Tax law gives Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway a big boost in value

Warren Buffett got a $29-billion boost to net earnings in the fourth quarter from the tax code changes.

Book value, a metric he’s called a “crude, but useful” way to track the conglomerate’s worth, climbed 13 per cent to $211,750 per Class A share at the end of 2017 compared to three months earlier, the company said Saturday in a statement. Analysts at Barclays last month predicted that the measure of assets minus liabilities would rise as Berkshire lowered its tax liability on some appreciated investments. 

Buffett had a mixed reaction to the tax overhaul passed by Congress last year. In January, he praised how the changes mean business owners will get a bigger share of profits and said