The Associated Press, ABC News, and The Wall Street Journal have all examined President Obama’s claim that middle-class families pay higher taxes than “millionaires and billionaires.” Every news organization that has fact-checked the statement has found it to be false.
From the AP:
The data tell a different story. On average, the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor, according to private and government data. 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.
From ABC News:
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has crunched the numbers and found that Warren Buffett and his secretary are the exception to the rule. For the most part, the wealthy pay a significantly higher percentage of their income in taxes than middle-income workers.
From The Wall Street Journal:
The rate for a relative handful of the rich—400 people—fell to 18%, … But nearly all millionaires still paid a rate that is more than twice the 8.9% average rate paid by those earning between $50,000 and $100,000, and more than three times the 7.2% average rate paid by those earning less than $50,000. The larger point is that the claim that CEOs are routinely paying lower tax rates than their secretaries is Omaha hokum.
The Washington Post also fact-checked Obama’s speech, but they did not bother to address his “millionaires and billionaires” math. Both PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org have also failed to fact-check Obama’s tax claim.
