House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said Republicans could accept new revenues, but not tax-rate hikes, as part of a broad deficit deal, but President Obama and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it was unlikely that eliminating loopholes and capping deductions could raise enough revenue to gain their support. …
The president, meanwhile, put the onus on Congress to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts of the “fiscal cliff.” He pressured Republicans to pass a bill extending only the middle-class tax cuts, saying he would sign it immediately.
In a press conference late Wednesday, Boehner rejected Obama’s push for the House to pass a Senate bill that locks in the rates for income up to $250,000 per year. …
On revenues, the Speaker again refused to specify what he would be willing to accept. “There are ways to put revenues on the table without increasing tax rates,” he said.
