Happy Tax Day! I realize paying taxes is not something most people relish, but when I have to send a check to Uncle Sam, I try to focus on all of the important services my tax dollars support. And I try not to think about the people who make a whole lot more money than I do but pay a smaller share of their incomes in taxes – like, say, the 22,000 millionaires who paid less than 15 percent of their income in federal taxes in 2009. (Even if you paid only a few dollars in federal income tax, that’s more than the 1,470 households with incomes over $1 million in 2009 who paid zero dollars in federal income tax.)
Happy Tax Day! I realize paying taxes is not something most people relish, but when I have to send a check to Uncle Sam, I try to focus on all of the important services my tax dollars support. And I try not to think about the people who make a whole lot more money than I do but pay a smaller share of their incomes in taxes – like, say, the 22,000 millionaires who paid less than 15 percent of their income in federal taxes in 2009. (Even if you paid only a few dollars in federal income tax, that’s more than the 1,470 households with incomes over $1 million in 2009 who paid zero dollars in federal income tax.)
I know I’m not the only one who believes it’s wrong for some millionaires and billionaires to pay a lower tax rate than many middle-income families pay. Last night, 51 Senators (49 Democrats, 1 Independent and 1 Republican) voted to begin debate on the Paying a Fair Share Act (S. 2230), often referred to as the “Buffett Rule,” which would require households with incomes above $1 million to pay at least a 30 percent income tax rate (with a phase-in for incomes between $1 million and $2 million). This policy just seems like common sense to me; it would make our tax code more fair, while raising billions of dollars in revenue we need to grow our economy and help women and their families share in the recovery. Perhaps that’s why recent polling shows a solid majority of Americans also supports the Buffett Rule.
Unfortunately, 45 Senators (1 Democrats and 44 Republicans) voted to block the Paying a Fair Share Act. (The bill needed 60 votes to proceed to debate.) I’m disappointed that a minority of Senators were able to prevent this not-at-all-radical bill from even being debated on the Senate floor. And I hope ordinary taxpayers like me will continue to call for measures like the Buffett Rule to help make sure the richest among us pay their fair share of taxes.