U.S. President Obama delivers remarks at the White House in Washington
Kevin Lamarque  /  REUTERS
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the White House in Washington November 28, 2012. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
updated 12/19/2012 10:39:55 AM ET 2012-12-19T15:39:55

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama would veto the House Republican "Plan B" tax proposal designed to avert January 1 tax hikes, the White House said on Wednesday, saying the plan does not do enough to balance spending cuts and tax increases.

The veto threat comes less than two weeks before a series of tax hikes and automatic budget cuts that could push the U.S. economy toward a so-called fiscal cliff and trigger another recession.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives could vote on Thursday on a "Plan B" tax bill that House Speaker John Boehner said would extend low tax rates, except on income of $1 million and above.

The White House has said Obama would accept a deal that puts the threshold for income tax hikes at $400,000, a higher threshold than his initial offer.

"The President urges the Republican leadership to work with us to resolve remaining differences and find a reasonable solution to this situation today," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick, Mark Felsenthal and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Alistair Bell and David Brunnstrom)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Discuss:

Discussion comments

,

Most active discussions

  1. votes comments
  2. votes comments
  3. votes comments
  4. votes comments

Data: Latest rates in the US

Home equity rates View rates in your area
Home equity type Today +/- Chart
$30K HELOC FICO 4.99%
$30K home equity loan FICO 6.18%
$75K home equity loan FICO 5.97%
Credit card rates View more rates
Card type Today +/- Last Week
Low Interest Cards 11.01%
11.01%
Cash Back Cards 16.34%
16.34%
Rewards Cards 15.80%
15.80%
Source: Bankrate.com
  1. U.S. President Obama delivers remarks at the White House in Washington
    Kevin Lamarque / REUTERS
    Jump to text

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama wo...

  2. Jump to discussion

    Obama would veto Republican "Plan B" on fiscal c...

  3. Jump to data

    See the latest rates around the country