Taxing rich small, but important step

I’ll be the first to admit that taxing the rich won’t get us very far in addressing our national debt, but it certainly would help in that effort, even if only a little.

More importantly, it should be a major step in the effort to achieve tax fairness. It makes absolutely no sense for Mr. Buffett’s secretary to pay a higher rate on her income than one of the richest men in America pays on his.

In Greece, one of the major contributors to its meltdown is the tax-evasion practices of its wealthy class. Perhaps they, too, even slip some income off to the Cayman Islands as some of our wealthy do.

Any new tax laws will have to address the actions of such scofflaws here in the U.S. In our country, Mr. Buffett openly deplores the state of our tax system. Good for him, but too few of his peers have joined in. To improve the tax code in a more fair and just direction would benefit us all and taxing the rich is an important part of that.

Benita Helseth

Lake Stevens