HARDBALL

Obama Plans PR for Tax Hike

Hope to raise taxes and cut spending to help the budget.

The White House is hoping to drum up support for a proposed budget deficit solution that increases taxes on the wealthy and cuts spending. President Obama will be meeting with labor and business leaders next week and plans to travel outside Washington to garner support for the plan that will try to avert automatic cuts that are scheduled to begin in January. In recent days Republicans have appeared to loosen their stringent opposition to Obama’s proposals, and House Speaker John Boehner even said a higher tax revenue could play a part in the deal. Obama’s defecit reduction plan includes letting tax rates rise to 39.6 percent (from 35 percent) on income over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. According to the White House, this would raise roughly $440 billion over the next 10 years.