Econintersect: The first big move has been made in the fiscal cliff negotiations. 
House Speaker John Boehner (pictured) has proposed a higher tax bracket for personal incomes of $1 million and more. This is a break in the no new tax position that Boehner and the Republicans have insisted on to this point.
There is a counter demand: The higher tax proposal is conditional on the president agreeing to “deep spending cuts” on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to the Financial Times. The break-through is reported by several media outlets which are quoting “several sources close to the talks.”
According to Politico, the Boehner proposal came after lengthy talks at the White House on Thursday (13 December 2012) and phone conversation(s) on Friday.
Some other details from Politico:
- Boehner wants to use “chained CPI” to calculate annual increments in entitlement programs which would slow cost escalation.
- The offer did not address other key issues such as continuing the payroll tax cut, extending unemployment benefits, and schedule sequestration spending cuts.
- The Republicans remain “unyielding” on not raising the debt ceiling as part of these negotiations.
All news sources Econintersect has reviewed have said the White House has declined to comment on the latest developments. The Speaker’s office also has declined to confirm or deny the reports, according to The Raw Story.
There have been no comments found yet from Grover Norquist.
Sources:
- Fiscal cliff talks: Speaker John Boehner pitches millionaire tax hike (John Breshnahan, Jake Sherman and Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico, 15 December 2012)
- Boehner proposes higher taxes on wealthy (James Politi, Financial Times, 16 December 2012)
- Speaker John Boehner to propose tax hike on the very rich, Politico says (Agence France-Presse, The Raw Story, 15 December 2012)
