Berkshire Hathaway will be doing its part to address the $2tn federal deficit in the coming year, because chief executive Warren Buffett’s company owes substantial taxes on its big sale of highly appreciated Apple stock.

During the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway realised $59.6bn of taxable gains on equity investments, and that gain likely was almost entirely due to the sale of Apple stock. Berkshire Hathaway nearly halved its stake in Apple in the second quarter to about 400 million shares, selling 389 million shares.