Vltava Fund’s Analysis of Taxes on Unrealized Gains Using Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) as an Example - InvestingChannel

Vltava Fund’s Analysis of Taxes on Unrealized Gains Using Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) as an Example

Vltava Fund, an investment management company, recently released its third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The portfolio had a surprisingly favorable July and a negative September. The last quarter saw significant movements in stocks overall. The first part of August saw the most market volatility. The major stock markets are currently experiencing an environment of interest rate reduction for the first time in a long time. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Vltava Fund highlighted stocks like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Incorporated in 1998, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) engages in the insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses. The one-month return of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) was 0.561%, and its shares gained 33.39% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 4, 2024, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) stock closed at $461.97 per share with a market capitalization of $996.054 billion.

Vltava Fund stated the following regarding Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“The US presidential election is just around the corner. During the election campaign, one of the presidential candidates raised the idea of taxing unrealised capital gains of wealthy people with assets exceeding USD 100 million. Today, taxes are normally paid on realised capital gains. This means that tax liability arises only upon the sale of assets. A tax on unrealised gains would mean that even without selling anything a person could still be liable to taxation. One would simply compare how much assets had grown in value during the year and tax that difference. The plan, as proposed, is for a tax rate of 25%. Let us look at a simple example of what the impact would have been on Warren Buffett’s wealth if he had paid such a tax on unrealised gains all his life. Buffett is a relatively easy case to quantify. He has held almost all of his wealth for most of his life in shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B). Although he does not buy and sell them personally, the shares are publicly traded and so their price is always known.

Here are the starting assumptions: 1. Warren Buffett once wrote in a text entitled “Berkshire – Past, Present and Future” that he held 392,633 shares in April 1965 when he took the helm of Berkshire Hathaway. 2. Buffett has not traded Berkshire stock during his lifetime and, had he not given some of it away to charity in the past two decades, he would very likely still hold all of it today…” (Click here to read the full text)

A team of insurance professionals in a boardroom overlooking a city skyline.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) is in 14th position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 120 hedge fund portfolios held Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) at the end of the second quarter which was 119 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we discussed Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) and shared the list of best geothermal stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

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