The Buffet Rule

Today the White House laid out its case for the Buffett Rule, arguing that it would make the tax code fairer and make it harder for the very rich to lower their tax bills. The Buffet Rule, a proposal that would ensure the wealthiest Americans pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes, is a key point in Obama's re-election bid. The general principle behind it is that millionaires and billionaires like investor Warren Buffett shouldn't pay a lower percentage of their income in federal taxes than middle-class households.

Over five decades, the average tax rate paid by the wealthiest Americans has dropped much more than the rate for middle-income taxpayers, even as the income of those at the top of the scale has grown significantly more than for everyone else.

Republican front-runner Romney, “opposes the Buffett Rule – he thinks millionaires and billionaires should keep paying lower tax rates than middle-class families," the statement said. "In fact, Romney himself isn’t paying his fair share – in 2010, Romney paid a tax rate of only 13.9 percent, well below the rate paid by many middle-class Americans."