Politics

Geithner defends plan to let tax cuts for wealthy expire

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made the Obama administration’s economic case for letting tax cuts for high earners expire at the end of this year, saying that failure to do so would harm rather than help economic growth.

In a speech Wednesday in Washington, part of the administration’s broader strategy to overcome Republican opposition on the issue, Mr. Geithner said that keeping current tax levels even on a short-term basis “would hurt economic recovery by undermining confidence that we are prepared to make a commitment today to bring down our future deficits.” The government needs the revenue it would get from allowing tax rates for the wealthy to rise, he said.

Lawmakers are expected to address the issue of the expiring tax cuts, enacted during the George W. Bush administration, as soon as September. Most Democrats and the Obama administration favor extending them for the middle class, defined as families earning less than $250,000, but letting them end for higher-income earners.

Full Story: Geithner Defends Plan to Let Tax Cuts for Wealthy Expire – WSJ.com

GEITHNER ON UNEMPLOYMENT, TAXES