President should pay fair share in taxes

Is the hypocrisy showing? I am wondering as I look at President Obama's tax return. He made $1.7 million and only paid 26 percent in federal taxes. He has made it perfectly clear that he believes “the rich” are not paying their fair share and that at some point you have made enough. He also insisted that we should have increased the tax rate for the rich. If he believes what he says, he should lead by example.

If he wants to reduce the deficit by taking from the rich, then he should tell his tax preparer to pay perhaps 70 percent or 80 percent directly to the federal government. His expenses are all taken care of by the American taxpayer.

He did give to charities, which was good. But then he used them as deductions on his tax return. Why not just use the short form, take no deductions and pay the full 35 percent tax rate? That would at least be paying the full rate that he believes all rich people should be paying.

Diana Bredenberg

Cedar Rapids