Warren Buffett returns fire at Chris Christie over ‘shut up’ remarks on taxes (VIDEO)

CNN reports that Warren Buffett today retorted to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who last week said the billionaire investor and Obama ally should “just write a check and shut up,” rather than complain of regressive income taxes.

Buffett has achieved notoriety for saying he paid taxes at a lower rate than his secretary. Christie on Feb 21 told CNN’s Piers Morgan that Christie was “tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check.”

Buffett appeared on CNBC today, with a dismissive riposte.

“It's sort of a touching response to a $1.2 trillion deficit, isn't it, that somehow the American people will just all send in checks and take care of it,” Buffett said.

In battles over the past year over deficit reduction and revenue collection, Republicans have insisted that no taxes be raised on any bracket of income earners. Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, who revealed earlier this year that he pays tax at an effective rate of less than 15 percent, criticized President Barack Obama today for proposing to raise the individual tax rate for top earners from 35 percent to 40 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.