The wealthy look set to enjoy a windfall in the closing weeks of the year as companies push money out the door to beat the higher tax rates advocated by President Barack Obama, Bloomberg reported

More than 150 companies have declared special dividends totaling about $20 billion this quarter to avoid anticipated tax increases in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Others, including law and private-equity firms, probably will pay bonuses, partnership distributions and commissions early for tax reasons, according to Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC.

“We’re going to have a big jump in household income in the fourth quarter. … It’s going to be in excess of $50 billion,” she said.

Much of that will go to upper-income Americans, the very people Obama has targeted to pay higher taxes.

Of the $123.6 billion in qualified dividends reported to the government for 2009, about 52 percent was received by those making more than $250,000 for the year, according to the latest data available from the Internal Revenue Service. Read more.