Sixty percent of Americans polled by Gallup support a millionaire’s tax such as that envisioned in the Buffett Rule, largely because independents tend to side with Democrats over Republicans on the issue.
“Six in 10 Americans favor Congress passing the so-called ‘Buffett Rule,’ which would mandate a minimum 30 percent tax rate for Americans with a household income of $1 million per year or more,” Gallup reports today. “Majorities of both Democrats and independents favor the policy, while a majority of Republicans oppose it.”
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The poll undercuts White House claims that congressional Republicans are ignoring their Republican constituents by opposing the rule, but it also suggests that Obama’s “fair share” rhetoric could aid him in the election.
As Gallup observed, “more than six in 10 independents, a critically important group in an election year, favor the law.”
President Obama paid an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent. He would not qualify for the increases required under the Buffett Rule, according to the National Journal.
