Companies avert tax boost with dividends, bonuses Much of that will go to upper-income Americans, the very people Obama has targeted to pay higher taxes, including Las Vegas Sands controlling shareholder and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson. 'Less equal' income"This is just another indication of how incredibly unequal the income distribution has become over the past 28 years," said Josh Bivens, research and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington group that focuses on the economic condition of low- and middle-class Americans. Obama has said an increase in tax rates on income above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples must be part of a deal to prevent the rest of the more than $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases from taking effect in 2013. Under the president's proposal, the top statutory tax rate on ordinary income would reach 39.6 percent, up from 35 percent, and the top rate on capital gains would be 23.8 percent, up from 15 percent. The Treasury Department also will enjoy higher revenue from capital gains taxes as investors unload shares to lock in profits before a possible rate rise in 2013.