President Obama told a leading group of business leaders Wednesday that he was open to a short-term deal to extend certain tax breaks but would not sign off on broader reforms unless middle-class protections were included.
Obama’s remarks to the Business Roundtable came as lawmakers rallied behind a short-term deal to extend tax breaks through the end of this year. A White House veto threat effectively scuttled a deal that would have extended the tax breaks through 2015.
“As a general rule, we are open to short-term extensions,” Obama said, explaining that in a broader package, however, he wants the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit included, among other measures.
Under the current tax “extenders” deal gaining traction on Capitol Hill, the tax breaks would be renewed retroactively to Jan. 1 but last only through the end of 2014.
And the president acknowledged that the differences between Republicans and Democrats make corporate tax reform an uphill climb, saying the window is “not too wide” for a breakthrough.
“If we are going to in fact accomplish revenue-neutral corporate tax reform … then we have to go after some deductions that people are very comfortable with,” Obama said. “In the short term, there are going to be some winners and losers.”
Obama added that he would prefer to do corporate tax reform before overhauling personal income taxes, rather than pursuing both simultaneously.
And Obama defended his business record to a roomful of CEOs, even as Americans remain pessimistic about the state of the economy.
“Wages and incomes still haven’t gone up significantly and certainly have not picked up the way they did in earlier generations,” he said. “That’s what is causing this quiet in the general public even though the aggregate numbers look good.”
