President Barack Obama gave a speech at the White House Tuesday morning, praising Congress for acting swiftly on the payroll tax cut extension bill last week, and also urging them to consider acting on the Warren Buffett rule that he introduced back in the fall.
“Congress needs to make the Buffett rule a reality. This is common sense,” said Mr. Obama. “If you make more than a million dollars a year, if you make more than a million dollars a year, you should pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent. And if you do that, that means, if you make less than 250,000 dollars a year … then you shouldn’t see your taxes go up.”
The president originally introduced the provision back in the fall after the billionaire investor revealed that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Mr. Buffett pays taxes based on capital gains tax rates, which are typically lower than what an average American taxpayer pays for income tax rates.
The rule would impose permanently higher taxes on individuals earning over $1 million per year.
In early February, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, introduced the “Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012″ in the Senate. The bill would require Americans earning over $1 million per year to pay a tax rate of 30 percent, regardless of their occupation. The bill is not expected to pass in either chamber of Congress, especially the Republican controlled House. Republicans are staunchly opposed to the Buffett rule.
“The president is desperate to distract attention away from his failed economic policies,”said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. “House Republicans are going to focus on tax policy that actually helps create jobs – not soundbites.”
However, on Tuesday, the president said that he and Vice President Joe Biden are taking on a new focus of taking action when they deem it to be necessary in the next few months.
“Whenever Congress refuses to act, Joe and I are going to act,” said Mr. Obama. “In the months to come, whenever we have an opportunity we’re going to act on our own.”
