WASHINGTON,
April 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. millionaires are paying the lowest income tax rates
in half a century, and the nation could not afford for this tax break to
continue, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday.
 |
President
Barack Obama meets with
Warren Buffett, the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, in the Oval Office, July 18, 2011. Obama is pushing the "Buffett Rule"
to raise taxes on the wealthy. (Photo:
Newscom) |
Speaking at
the White House, Obama again used the "Buffett Rule" to stress the
importance of economic fairness to the nation's prosperity in his second
straight day of campaigning for legislation that would raise the tax rate for
the rich. The " Buffett Rule" is named after billionaire investor
Warren Buffett, who has famously said he pays a lower tax rate than his
secretary.
The wealthy
should do their fair share in helping reduce the country's massive deficits,
Obama said.
"At a
time when the share of national income flowing to the top 1 percent of people
in this country has climbed to levels we haven 't seen since the 1920s, these
same folks are paying taxes at one of the lowest rates in 50 years," he
charged.
"While
many millionaires do pay their fair share, some take advantage of loopholes and
shelters that let them get away with paying no income taxes whatsoever -- and
that's all perfectly legal under the system that we currently have," added
Obama who was flanked by corporate executives who agreed with the "Buffett
Rule" in the briefing room.
Nearly
one-quarter of all U.S. millionaires pay a lower tax rate than millions of
middle-income taxpayers currently, figures from the White House showed.
The speech
came a week before the Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that would require
U.S. taxpayers with an annual income of 1 million dollars or more to pay an
income tax rate of at least 30 percent.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
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