Obama: Extend tax cuts for middle class, not the wealthy - USA Today

President Obama said today his top priority is to extend the George W. Bush tax cuts for middle class Americans, and he will talk with Republicans next week about what to do with the tax rates for wealthier Americans.

"I continue to believe that extending permanently the upper-income tax cuts would be a mistake and that we can't afford it," Obama told reporters at the G-20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. "And my hope is, is that somewhere in between there we can find some sort of solution."

He added: "I'm not going to negotiate here in Seoul. My job is to negotiate back in Washington with Republican and Democratic leaders."

The tax cuts expire at the end of the year, and are the top priority of the lame duck Congress that meets next week.

Obama said the Bush tax cuts should lapse for individuals who make more than $200,000 a year and couples who make more than $250,000.

Republicans, including incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, say no one's taxes should be increased in a bad economy, and that many wealthy people also create jobs.

Obama and aides have said they oppose a "permanent" extension of tax cuts for the wealthy, suggesting he may be open to a temporary extension.

That possibility has angered some of Obama's liberal supporters.

"The White House and congressional leaders need to say we are scheduling one vote, one vote only, and that vote is on renewing the middle class tax cuts," said Adam Green, co-founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee. "And if Republicans want to oppose tax cuts for 98% of Americans, we dare them to and will pummel them politically if they do. That's how you fight and put Republicans on defense."

In Seoul, Obama said his top goal is "to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle-class families" next year, "not only because they need relief after having gone through a horrendous recession, but also because it would be bad for the economy."

Obama also said tax cut extensions for the wealthy would exacerbate the nation's budget deficit problems:

I also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high-income tax cuts. I think that would be a mistake, particularly when we've got our Republican friends saying that their number-one priority is making sure that we deal with our debt and our deficit.

So there may be a whole host of ways to compromise around those issues. I'm not going to negotiate here in Seoul on those issues. But I've made very clear what my priorities are.

(Posted by David Jackson)

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