A day before American taxes are due, the Senate voted 51-45 against President Barack Obama's "Buffett Rule," which calls for rich Americans to pay a greater share of federal taxes. The rule, which would have applied to the top 200,000 Americans, was famously named after American billionaire investor Warren Buffett who commented last year that he pays a lower tax rate than his own secretary. President Obama and many Democrats argued that anyone earning over $1 million a year or more should pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes.
The GOP and other naysayers to the proposed bill argued that the "Buffett Rule" was nothing more than a political sideshow, designed to distract potential voters from the real issue of Obama's ineffective economic policies. While the bill was blocked by the Senate, the White House still believes that the American public will not take kindly to thousands of individual million-dollar earners in America paying lower tax rates than millions of middle-income workers.
With the "Buffett Rule" defeated, President Obama's camp promised they will make the tax debate a key part of their re-election campaign.
