| Obama calls for extension of tax cuts for middle class |
WASHINGTON US President Barack Obama called on Congress on Saturday to approve an extension of tax cuts for most Americans, but not the top income earners.
“Under my plan, 98 per cent of American families won’t see their income taxes go up at all,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
“But the other two per cent of Americans will have to pay a little more in taxes on anything they make over $250,000,” the president continued. “In other words, the wealthiest few Americans will go back to the income tax rates they were paying under Bill Clinton.”
The comment came as a political fight between congressional Democrats and Republicans over future taxes began to heat up.
In his address, Obama argued that if the tax cut is allowed to expire, it “would be a huge financial hit for middle-class families.”
On Friday, the ‘Super PAC’ working to re-elect Obama said it had raised $6.1 million in June, in a further improvement after a bad start in the race for cash ahead of the November 6 election. The pro-Obama’s group’s June haul has now topped the $5 million its rival pulled in during May, the latest report available for the Republican ‘super’ political action committee.
Democrats have struggled to catch up to Republicans in the Super PAC game, largely thanks to the Democratic Party’s objections to unrestrained fundraising and spending allowed for the groups, which often fund negative ads.
Obama took his pitch for a second White House term to Virginia reminding supporters that the election battleground state could secure him victory over Romney.
The Democratic president painted himself as a champion of ordinary Americans as his re-election team stepped up attacks on Romney over his business record and wealth.
Political strategists view Virginia, Ohio and Florida as vital states for Romney’s White House bid and say that unless the Republican takes two of them, he will not be able to reach the 270 electoral college vote threshold he needs for victory.
Romney, meanwhile, has angrily blasted what he called “false” attacks on his time at Bain Capital, but did not cede to demands to release more tax returns that have dogged his White House bid.
The former Massachusetts governor sounded off in five interviews to major US television networks.
“I was the owner of the entity that was filing this information, but I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after 1999. I left in February of 1999,” Romney told CNN.
Agencies
|
 |
|
|
| NEWS UPDATES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
