President Obama said
Friday that he would insist that tax increases on affluent Americans be part of
any agreement to avoid a year-end fiscal crisis, setting up a possible
confrontation with Congressional Republicans who say they will oppose a rise in
tax rates for the rich.
In his first remarks from the White
House since his re-election, Obama made it clear that he believed his victory
had validated his relentless campaign call for wealthier Americans to pay more
and that he expected Republicans to heed that message.
“I just want to point out this was a
central question during the election,” he said in brief remarks in the East
Room. “It was debated over and over again. And on Tuesday night, we found out that
the majority of Americans agree with my approach.”
Obama said he had invited
Congressional leaders to the White House next week to begin talks as they
return for a lame-duck session of Congress. He said he was willing to make some
concessions as long as the final fiscal bargain was properly balanced between
new tax revenue and spending cuts.
“I’m not
wedded to every detail of my plan,” Obama said. “I’m open to compromise.”
At the same time, he encouraged
Congress to quickly pass an extension of the existing lower rates for those
making under $250,000 even while the broader negotiations take place.
“While there may be disagreement in
Congress over whether or not to raise taxes on folks making over $250,000 a
year, nobody — not Republicans, not Democrats — want taxes to go up for folks
making under $250,000 a year,” he said. “So let’s not wait.”
The President’s comments came shortly
after Speaker John A. Boehner, who had been striking a conciliatory tone since
Republican election losses in the Senate and the House, told reporters that
Republicans had won a mandate of their own by retaining control of the House
and that he supported continuing rates enacted in the Bush-era tax cuts for all
income levels.
“Raising tax rates will slow down our
ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want,” said Boehner, who
said he favored generating any new federal revenue to offset the deficit by
closing tax loopholes and limiting deductions.
“It’s clear that there are a lot of
special interest loopholes in the tax code, both corporate and personal,” he
said. “It’s also clear that there are all kinds of deductions, some of which
make sense; others don’t. And by lowering rates and cleaning up the tax code,
we know we’re going to get more economic growth.”
The President and Boehner were careful
with their language and left room for compromise despite their fundamental
differences about shifting more of the tax burden to high-income Americans.
Boehner would not be very specific on what his goal might be for raising new
federal tax dollars.
“I don’t want to box myself in,” he
said. “I don’t want to box anybody else in. I think it’s important for us to
come to an agreement with the president. But this is his opportunity to lead.”
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