Obama Declares Class Warfare

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

The president will call the new tax the "Buffett rule" after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, an Obama supporter who has publicly complained that tax breaks allow him to pay a lower rate than his secretary.

The White House did not release details of the proposal, so it's not known what the minimum tax rate for those earning more than $1 million a year would be or how much additional revenue it would produce.

According to White House talking points on the proposal circulated to lawmakers, "no household making over $1 million annually should pay a smaller share of its income in taxes than middle-class families pay."

The White House said the Buffet rule would apply to the top 0.3% of wage earners, and noted that 22,000 people making more than $1 million a year in 2009 paid less than 15% of their income in taxes.

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Ryan: 'Buffett Rule' class warfare