NEW: Senate Fails to Advance ‘Buffett Rule’
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on Monday called the Senate’s failure to advance his “Buffett Rule” legislation “inexcusable” and vowed to keep fighting to get the bill passed moving forward.
The bill, which was called the “Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012,” need 60 votes to advance. The bill failed by a 51-45 vote.
“It is inexcusable that a multi-million-dollar earner can pay a lower tax rate than a Rhode Island truck driver,” Whitehouse said. “Today’s vote on the Paying a Fair Share Act took us one step closer to ensuring that middle-class families across the country get the straight deal they deserve. Although we were unable to break the Republican filibuster, a majority of the United States Senate has gone on the record in favor of greater fairness in our tax code. I’ll keep fighting to make the Buffett Rule law.”
The legislation would ensure that multi-million-dollar earners pay at least a 30-percent effective tax rate. It 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 and the tax would be phased in for incomes between $1 million and $2 million.
The bill also includes language to preserve the incentive for charitable giving.