Millionaires Lobby Capitol Hill to Raise Tax Rates

A group of millionaires visited the halls of Congress in an effort to convince lawmakers to raise tax rates on incomes of $1 million a year or more.

The group, known as the “Patriotic Millionaires,” made the visit as the November 23 deadline approaches for a congressional “supercommittee” to come up with a deficit reduction plan of at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

The money can come from increased revenues, decreased expenses, or some combination of the two. The Patriotic Millionaires group, however, believes that any deal the supercommittee agrees to must include a tax rate for incomes over $1 million of at least 39.6 percent, the same level the rate was prior to the Bush tax cuts.

During the group’s meetings with lawmakers Wednesday, it heard about one deal under consideration, proposed by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would lower the top tax rate from 35 to 28 percent in exchange for eliminating or limiting many popular deductions. The group is urging constituents to contact their congressional representatives to oppose the deal.