Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway looks likely to be a top payer of Biden's new corporate tax, study finds

• Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway tops a list of companies that would pay the most under a new tax law.
• The 15% minimum tax on corporations means Berkshire Hathaway would've paid $8.3 billion last year.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway could be a top payer of President Joe Biden's new corporate tax law, according to a new study.

The research, conducted by the University of North Carolina Tax Center, used historical securities filings to establish what companies would have paid if the tax came into effect last year. It found that about 78 companies would be subject to the tax, which altogether, would've raised approximately $31.8 billion.

According to the study, billionaire investor Buffett's company would have coughed up the most in 2021, estimated to pay $8.3 billion, while Amazon trails behind, owing $2.7 billion, based on the companies' last year earnings.

In August, Biden signed a minimum book income tax into law under the Inflation Reduction Act. That enforces a 15% corporate minimum tax targeted at companies that earn more than $1 billion a year.

Earlier in January, Berkshire Hathaway hit a $700 billion market capitalization, but the achievement stopped short of celebration as Buffett struggles to find stocks or businesses at attractive prices. This month alone, the famed investor's company made a $2 billion error by selling Occidental Petroleum stock in 2020 only to pile back in 18 months later.

The misstep comes as aggressive monetary policy by the Federal Reserve in an effort to ward off high inflation batters US stocks. It's caused major US indexes to sell off sharply, with the S&P 500 slipping into bear market territory in June and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting its closing low for the year on Friday.

Other top payers of Biden's new tax law include Ford, AT&T and eBay, based on 2021 earnings.