A misleading statistic on the amount of taxes paid by American billionaires was shared on US President Joe Biden's Twitter account on Saturday. In Biden's tweet, he said, "Look, I think you should be able to be a billionaire if you can earn it, but just pay your fair share."

Look, I think you should be able to be a billionaire if you can earn it, but just pay your fair share.

I think you ought to pay a minimum tax of 25%.

It’s about basic fairness. pic.twitter.com/oHgreYCdUz

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 18, 2023

The tweet featured a picture of a quotation from Biden that read: "You know the average tax billionaires pay? Three per cent. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax than somebody working as a schoolteacher or a firefighter." However, the source of the 3% statistic is unknown, and it differs from figures the White House has previously released.

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Biden Economic Plan Is Working fact sheet

The Biden Economic Plan Is Working fact sheet, published by the White House in February, estimated how much revenue the United States could raise by including unrealized gains, or the prospective profit on selling assets, as income. According to the data sheet, billionaires often pay an 8% tax rate every year. The lower statistic is due to accounting for unrealized gains.

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