Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role, for example France's taxe d'habitation.

Local government levy rates usually called council or shire rates on property based on the nominal rental value of the property. The value is called gross rental value and is calculated by the land authority or agency.

In Hong Kong, rates on property is based on the nominal rental value of the property. Unlike in England and Wales, it is still levied on domestic property as well as non-domestic premises. Prior to 2000, it was used to fund municipal services, responsible by the now-abolished Urban Council and Regional Council, through the Urban Services Department and Regional Services Department. The revenue now goes to the treasury. The bill is issued quarterly.

Israel has a similar tax known as arnona that goes back to the days of the British Mandate of Palestine. It is levied by the municipality (or, in smaller localities, by the moatza eizorit, i.e., Regional Council) based (currently) on the square meterage of dwelling or business. Specific rates vary widely among municipalities, with Jerusalem and Rehovot having the highest rates in the country. In rental dwellings, tenants (rather than owners) generally pay the arnona. Single parents and some forms of economic hardship qualify for discounts or even exemptions.

Rates (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁatɨʃ]) is a Portuguese parish and town located in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 2,539 inhabitants and a total area of 13.88 square kilometres.

Rates is a historic small town that developed around the Monastery of Rates, established by Henry of Burgundy in 1100 AD on the site of an older temple. It gained importance due to the legend of Saint Peter of Rates, first bishop of Braga, becoming in a central place in the Portuguese Way of Saint James.

It has been inhabited since the Roman era; archaeological works in its church date the site from the Roman era, and there was a Roman road running through it.

In the 16th century, the monastery was dissolved and a Comenda of the Order of Christ was created. Its first Comendador was the Noble Knight Tomé de Sousa, who John III of Portugal made Governor of Brazil. It lost its municipal status in 1836 and was annexed to Póvoa de Varzim. It became a town again on July 2, 1993, mostly due to its historical importance. This new status is merely honorary in nature and not of administrative importance.

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. He is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011. In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.

Buffett is called the "Wizard of Omaha", "Oracle of Omaha", or the "Sage of Omaha" and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. On April 11, 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children and only son of U.S. Representative Howard Buffett, a fierce critic of the interventionist New Deal domestic and foreign policy, and his wife Leila (née Stahl). Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stock broker."