Boehner fiscal cliff deal calls for tax hike on millionaires
Speaker of the House John Boehner at a news conference with fellow GOP House members at the US Capitol on Dec. 22, 2011.
House Speaker John Boehner has put tax cuts on the table for the first time in fiscal cliff negotiations.
The GOP leader re-started what had appeared to be a stall in talks, offering a deal that would raise the income tax rates for those making more than $1 million in exchange for tax cuts and entitlement reforms, Politico reported.
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It's the first time Boehner has offered any sort of tax increase in negotiations to avoid steep automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in 2013.
The White House considers the offer "progress," but a source told Reuters late Saturday that President Barack Obama is not ready to accept the deal.
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Obama has long demanded tax increases on households earning more than $250,000.
Until now, Boehner had maintained his opposition to any tax hikes. Instead, he's proposed raising up to $800 billion in tax revenue over 10 years by limiting tax loopholes and deductions as part of a broad tax overhaul, according to The Associated Press.
But the speaker and other House Republicans are under increasing fire from Senate Republicans over their stubbornness as the Jan. 1 fiscal cliff deadline looms nearer.
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