The tax system is “rigged” against the average American, David Axelrod said Tuesday as President Barack Obama was...

Darius Dixon
Politico Contributor

The tax system is “rigged” against the average American, David Axelrod said Tuesday as President Barack Obama was set to push for passage of the so-called Buffett rule to raise taxes on the wealthy.

“We should not have a tax system where billionaires pay less than their secretaries. We have a tax system that’s rigged against the average person, rigged in favor of very wealthy and we need to fix that. And this Buffett rule will address that,” the White House strategist said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“People argue what they will. The question isn’t whether they’re right, the question is whether this is right and whether the principle is right,” Axelrod said when asked whether Democrats were taking up the tax issue only because of the fall election.

The rule, named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, calls for taxing millionaires at a higher 30 percent federal rate and is based on the idea espoused by Buffett that he shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than his secretary. Democrats have scheduled a procedural vote on the rule for April 16, the eve of tax day.

Obama was traveling to southern Florida on Tuesday for a speech advocating hiking taxes on the wealthy.