Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Republicans block Senate vote on ‘Buffett Rule’ tax for millionaires

WASHINGTON — As expected, the Senate did not pass the “Buffett Rule” today, a comment-turned-maxim-turned-piece of legislation that would have set a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for anyone with an income of over a million dollars, no matter the source of that income.

The inspiration for the bill came from financial tycoon Warren Buffett, once the richest man in the world, who commented in early 2011 that his secretary paid a higher effective tax rate than he did -- and he thought that was reprehensible.

President Barack Obama quickly picked up on a principle in Buffett’s comments that he would call “the Buffett Rule”: that millionaires and billionaires shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.

It’s been cited by Democrats frequently as rationale for repealing the Bush-era tax cuts, for off-setting cuts to the budget with tax provisions that would raise revenue, and for surtaxes on millionaires and billionaires to pay for public works projects intended to create jobs. None of those initiatives has passed either.

But it may be a vote that echoes on the campaign trail.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada has long supported the idea of the Buffett Rule and this bill. But Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican, voted against it Monday evening -- dismissing it as a “campaign gimmick,” anticipating the attacks Democrats will be lobbing his way with an answer.

“While Nevada struggles with high unemployment, the president and Senate Democrats have chosen to focus on a measure that will not create a single job,” Heller said in a statement. “They have ignored rising gas prices, have not passed a budget in more than three years, and shoved job-killing government health care on small businesses across the country. Now, the best they can do is push a tax hike designed for nothing more than a campaign press release. It’s no wonder the American people are so frustrated with Washington.”

Reid's statement following the vote stated: “Today Senate Republicans again put millionaires ahead of the middle class. Currently, most hedge fund managers pay a lower tax rate than many of their middle-class employees – but while the incomes for the wealthy have ballooned in recent years, middle-class wages haven’t kept pace with the price of a college education or a secure retirement. The measure that Republicans blocked today would have restored fairness to our tax code and reduced the deficit without asking middle class families or seniors to sacrifice any more than they already have."

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