Irish millionaires pay about 30 percent in taxes new figures reveal

New figures released in Ireland this week show most millionaires paid about 30 percent in taxes in 2009, according to the Irish Times.

In the same week in the U.S., Mitt Romney’s tax returns revealed he paid only 14 percent of his income in taxes. President Obama said in his State of the Union speech this week that he would like all Americans that earn over one million dollars to pay round the 30 percent mark.

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” said the president. “Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does his fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”

In Ireland, the new wage statistics reveal that 620 people earned over €1 million and in 2009, 2,500 received salaries in the €500,000 to €1 million range and 10,000 were in the wage bracket between €250,000 and €500,000.