President Barack Obama is expected to propose a new tax rate for millionaires as part of his long-term deficit reduction plan on Monday.
The millionaire tax would be known as the “Buffett Rule,” named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who wrote an op-ed last month for The New York Times in which he said the Tax Code was “coddling the super-rich.” Buffett pointed out that investors like him pay a lower tax rate on capital gains than his own secretary pays on ordinary income. The millionaire tax would replace the alternative minimum tax, according to the Times.
The new tax would be part of approximately $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue, or about half of the $3 trillion deficit reduction plan over 10 years, according to the CBS News. Obama will again propose repealing the Bush tax cuts for married taxpayers making over $250,000 a year, or single taxpayers who earn over $200,000 a year. He also would threaten to veto any legislation coming to him that cuts Medicare, but does not increase taxes on the wealthy, according to The Hill. A congressional “super committee” has begun meeting to try to come to an agreement on at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures as part of last month’s debt ceiling deal.
On Sunday, several Republicans denounced Obama’s millionaire tax proposal, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., telling David Gregory on Meet the Press, “If Warren Buffett would like to give up some of his benefits, we’d be happy to talk about it, and I think that means-adjusting benefits is one of the ways that we’re going to solve at least the Social Security and Medicare problems long term for the next generations. With regard to his tax rate, if he’s feeling guilty about it, I think he should send in his check. But we don’t want to stagnate the economy by raising taxes.”
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that Obama’s plan was like “class warfare.”
“Class warfare, Chris, may make for really good politics, but it makes a rotten economics,” he said. “We don't need a system that seeks to divide people. We don't need a system that seeks to prey on people's fear, envy and anxiety. We need a system that creates jobs and innovation, and removes these barriers for entrepreneurs to go out and rehire people. I'm afraid these kinds of tax increases don't work.”
