Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise will introduce his own Warren Buffett-inspired legislation tonight, but this one has the support of conservatives like Grover Norquist.
Scalise’s “Warren Buffett Act of 2011” will instruct the IRS to provide a checkbox on Americans’ income tax forms so that those who feel they are not paying enough in taxes can easily and conveniently do so — without forcing an entire change in the tax code. (RELATED: Buffett: I’ll show you my tax returns if you show me yours)
“The President is running around the country saying that he wants to raise taxes on our nation’s small businesses, and families that are struggling and he is using Warren Buffett as the poster-child, because Warren Buffett said he doesn’t pay enough in taxes,” Scalise told The Daily Caller. “Rather than engaging in this class warfare game, what I want to do is say, ‘Look, if Warren Buffett and anybody else feels like they are not sending enough money to Washington, give them that option to do it voluntarily but don’t go and change the tax laws to put an increased burden on others who are struggling to get by.’”
Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman who complains that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, has been the inspiration for what President Obama is calling the “Buffett rule” to increase the taxes of those earning $1 million or more per year.
“Even the President acknowledged last year that if you raise taxes during tough economic times it makes the economy worse” Scalise said. “So why would he be trying to raise taxes? If somebody wants to send in money on their own voluntarily they ought to have that option, but the money ought to be used to pay down the national debt, which is what my bill does.”