Buffett says 'Buffett rule' not his plan

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett says he does not agree with President Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires.

Buffett says he advocated a tax hike only on what he termed the "ultra-rich," distancing his remarks from Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires, The Hill reported.

The president has called for higher tax rates on millionaires as part of his proposed deficit-reduction plan, dubbing it the "Buffett rule" in a nod to Buffett's call for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

But Buffett says his plan was not the "Buffett rule."

"It isn't [my idea] to have the rich pay more taxes. It's to have the ultra-rich pay more," he said Friday.

"There's all kinds of ultra-rich who pay normal taxes, but there is a small segment -- but you can find them very easily -- who pay very low taxes, including me," Buffett said.

"People who make money with money only pay very low taxes at very high levels of income. ... What I'm talking about would probably apply to 50,000 people out of 310 million in the country."

Buffett said he considered Obama's bill a "stimulus plan" and doubted he would agree with all of it.