Americas

Americas

U.S. cannot afford to give wealthy tax cuts: Obama

11 April 2012 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. millionaires are paying the lowest income tax rates in half a century, and the nation could not afford for this tax break to continue, U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Speaking at the White House, Obama again used the "Buffett Rule" to stress the importance of economic fairness to the nation’s prosperity in his second straight day of campaigning for legislation that would raise the tax rate for the rich. The "rule" is named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has famously said he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

The wealthy should do their fair share in helping reduce the country’s massive deficits, Obama said.

The speech came a week before the Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that would require U.S. taxpayers with an annual income of 1 million dollars or more to pay an income tax rate of at least 30 percent.