President Barack Obama is promoting a "Buffett rule" setting a minimum tax rate for top earners to ensure they pay a higher percentage of their income than middle- class families. For the most part, they already do.
"The Buffett rule, amongst economists, could also be called the stupid rule," said Kevin Hassett, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington group that supports free enterprise. "It's basically just a back-door way to hike taxes on capital."
Obama has framed his push for the Buffett rule as a fairness issue, and made the case by comparing effective tax rates paid by different income groups.
A 30 percent tax rate "shouldn't be too much to ask," said Seth Larson, a spokesman for Whitehouse.
"Those who can afford it should pay a little more in taxes," Larson said. "This has been a guiding principle of our tax code for generations, and the Paying a Fair Share Act would simply restore that balance."
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