Sen. Franken Renews Push for Wealthiest Americans to Pay their Fair Share in Taxes

Press Release

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) joined a group of his colleagues in reintroducing key tax fairness legislation--commonly known as the "Buffett Rule"--to require that America's top earners pay their fair share of taxes just like middle-class Minnesotans.

The Paying a Fair Share Act would ensure that millionaires and billionaires pay at least a 30 percent effective federal tax rate, which means they can't pay a lower rate than what middle-class Minnesotans pay. The legislation, often called the "Buffett Rule," was put forth after billionaire investor Warren Buffett realized that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary.

"Although we've seen 58 months of economic growth, too little of those gains have gone to families in the middle class or aspiring to be in the middle class," said Sen. Franken. "We need to make our economic system fairer for everybody. With the way the tax system is set up, millionaires and billionaires can pay tax rates that are much lower than many middle-class families. We need this legislation to make sure that, no matter what you make, everyone pays their fair share."

The Paying a Fair Share Act would apply only to taxpayers with income over $1 million--including capital gains and dividends. Taxpayers earning over $2 million would be subject to a 30 percent minimum federal tax rate. The tax would be phased in for incomes between $1 million and $2 million, with those taxpayers paying a portion of the extra tax required to get them to a 30 percent effective tax rate. The bill also includes language to preserve the incentive for charitable giving.

Source