Taxpayers throughout the country could see a more leveled rate under a proposal U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., revealed during a conference call Monday. The proposal would would ensure middle class workers do not pay a higher tax rate than those earning more than $1 million annually. 

In a statement released last week, Baldwin announced she would introduce the “Paying a Fair Share Act.” The legislation mirrors the proposed “Buffett Rule” by President Barack Obama in the State of the Union address, which also aims to help level the playing field between middle class taxpayers, millionaires and billionaires.

“This bill addresses a problem with current law where the wealthiest Americans pay lower tax rates than hardworking middle class families,” Baldwin said. “The top-earning 400 Americans paid an average effective federal tax rate of 18.2 percent in 2008, which is lower than many middle and lower class taxpayers in Wisconsin.”

The statement announcing the legislation said the bill would apply only to the 0.1 percent of taxpayers with income greater than $1 million.

The statement said other goals of the bill would be to see that the highest-earning Americans pay at least a 30 percent effective tax rate, phase-in additional tax liability for taxpayers earning between $1 million and $2 million and preserve deductions for charitable giving.

“Most Americans believe there are two sets of rules,” Baldwin said during the conference call. “A set for the most wealthy and another for everyone else. The system is rigged when lobbyists write provisions that benefit the wealthiest Americans.”

Asked whether she was in support of further reform in the tax code, including a tax on capital gains, Baldwin said while she supported an entire restructuring of the tax code, she was focused on this specific bill because of its wide amount of public support.

Baldwin said the “Buffett Rule” was inspired by billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said it is wrong he pays less in taxes than his secretary. Baldwin’s bill is a companion to one introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. 

In an email to The Badger Herald, University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said there is no chance Baldwin’s bill would be passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

“The ‘Buffett Rule’ is thought to be a good issue for the Democrats this election year,” Burden said in the email. “It puts Republicans in an uncomfortable place because they will have to go on record opposing a 30 percent tax rate for the top 0.1 percent of wage earners.”

Burden also said in the email the bill sharpens the contrast between Obama and Mitt Romney, a Republican candidate for president whose income and tax rate have become campaign issues. 

Former Congressman Mark Neumann’s campaign manager, Chip Englander, said Baldwin’s plan is to raise taxes, while Neumann’s plan would be to cut spending and find trillions therein to balance the budget. Neumann and Baldwin are currently competing for U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat.