Politics
President Obama warning of ‘self-inflicted wound’ to U.S. economy
Republicans said they were willing to bow to Obama’s call for higher taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent them from rising on those less well-off.
Obama wants tax increases on those with $250K income
Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for tax increases above US$250,000 in annual income, even though he said in recent negotiations he said he could accept US$400,000. There was no evidence of agreement even at the higher level.
There were indications from Republicans that estate taxes might hold more significance for them than the possibility of higher rates on income.
One senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said late Friday he was “totally dead set” against Obama’s estate tax proposal, and as if to reinforce the point, Blunt mentioned the issue before any other in his broadcast remarks. “Small businesses and farm families don’t know how to deal with the unfair death tax — a tax that the president and congressional leaders have threatened to expand to include even more family farms and even more small businesses,” he said.
Several officials said Republicans want to leave the tax at 35 percent after exempting the first US$5 million US in estate value. Officials said the White House wants a 45 percent tax after a US$3.5 million exemption. Without any action by Congress, it would climb to a 55 percent tax after a US$1 million exemption on January 1.
Income taxes or estate tax
Democrats stressed their unwillingness to make concessions on both income taxes and the estate tax, and said they hoped Republicans would choose which mattered more to them.
