WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama makes it sound like there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries.
But on average, private and government data shows that the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor. They pay at a higher rate, and as a group, they contribute a much larger share of the overall taxes collected by the federal government.
Obama is calling on Congress to overhaul the tax code and impose what he calls the “Buffett rule,” named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The rule says people making more than $1 million a year should pay a larger share of their income in taxes than middle-class families.