Thursday, November 29, 2012
11:25 AM
Baldwin, Whitehouse call for 'Buffett Rule' in deficit deal
U.S. Sen.-elect Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., today urged President Obama to back a tax increase on high-income earners as part of a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" at the end of the year.
In a letter to the president, Baldwin and Whitehouse -- the House and Senate sponsors, respectively, of the "Buffett Rule," named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett -- wrote that requiring a 30 percent effective federal tax rate for "multi-million-dollar earners" should be part of any budget deal.
"In addition to letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for incomes above $250,000 as you have pledged to do, we believe it is imperative to enact a safeguard to ensure that the highest-earning Americans cannot subvert the progressivity of the tax code through loopholes and special rates not available to middle-class families," the lawmakers wrote.
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