WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is voicing unwavering
opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the nation's
wealthiest families even for a year or two, drawing a sharp
contrast with Republicans eight weeks before the November
elections.
The president was to outline his stand Wednesday in a speech in
Cleveland, where he also will propose a package of infrastructure
investments and business tax incentives that the White House says
will put the economy on a path toward long-term growth while
allowing for some immediate job creation.
The Bush tax cuts, the most sweeping in a generation, are due to
expire in January, setting up a big fight in Congress over what to
do about them. Republicans and some Democrats want them to remain
in place for a year or two or to make them permanent. Obama wants
to make the tax cuts permanent for middle- and low-income families
while allowing them to expire for individuals making more than
$200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000.
The White House sees the issue as an opportunity to appeal to
middle-class voters and independents who were crucial to Obama's
election. In his speech, Obama will argue that the tax cuts for the
wealthy would add $700 billion to the deficit, a sum the country
can't afford as the economy struggles to recover.
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, offered his own
proposals Wednesday, saying in a nationally broadcast interview
that Congress should freeze all tax rates for two years and should
cut federal spending to the levels of 2008, before the deep
recession took hold.
"People are asking, 'Where are the jobs?"' Boehner said,
calling the White House "out of touch" with the American public.
Obama is asking Congress to consider three proposals:
- A $50 billion infrastructure investment to rebuild and repair
the nation's roads, railways and runways.
- A permanent extension of research and development tax credits
for businesses.
- Tax breaks to let businesses quickly write off 100 percent of
their spending on new plants and equipment through 2011.