The White House’s proposed “Buffett Rule” looks like a political winner, at least for now.

A new Gallup poll finds that six in 10 Americans support the idea of a law that would require households that earn $1 million or more a year to pay a minimum 30% tax rate, as President Obama has called for. Thirty-seven percent are opposed.

Three out of four Democrats favor the plan, while Republicans are split 43% for and 54% against. Among independent voters, 63% back the idea, while 33% oppose it.

Last September, Obama called for tax reform that would, in part, ensure that the middle class did not have a higher tax burden than “millionaires and billionaires.” It was dubbed the “Buffett Rule” because, as Obama put it at the time using the multibillionaire as an example, “Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett.”


The president renewed his push for what he considers “tax fairness” this week, an effort timed to coincide with an expected vote on a legislative version of the proposal in the Senate next week, itself tied to the April 17 income tax filing deadline.

Obama’s reelection campaign is also pushing the proposal, seeking to highlight presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s wealth and the fact that he paid 15% in taxes on millions in income.

In a campaign speech Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden coined a new term, the “Romney Rule,” which he said would “double down on the tax cuts for the wealthy.”

The White House revealed Friday that the Obamas paid 20.5% of their 2011 adjusted gross income in federal taxes.


Though there was broad support for the Buffett Rule in the Gallup poll, the firm noted that very few Americans mentioned a gap between the rich and poor as a major problem facing the country.

The survey of 1,016 adults nationwide was conducted April 9 to 12, and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

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Original source: Gallup poll: 60% back Obama’s ‘Buffett Rule’