国财政部长盖特纳(Timothy Geithner)周四说，奥巴马政府将允许针对美国富人的减税政策按原定计划到期。共和党人和一小部分敢于直言的民主党人希望推迟恢复以往的征税水平，由此，他们与白宫之间形成了对立。
盖特纳说，白宫将允许针对富人的税收在2011年提高，以此作为降低美国财政赤字的部分措施。他说，白宫计划延长针对中低收入阶层的即将到期的减税措施，并打算在明年对税法进行一次更大范围的修订。
盖特纳在与媒体记者共进早餐时说，允许那些针对最有钱人的减税措施到期，我们相信是恰当的。
盖 特纳做上述表示之时，包括北达科他州参议员康拉德(Kent Conrad)、内布拉斯加州参议员尼尔森(Ben Nelson)在内的一些民主党人士，已经开始响应共和党和部分经济学家的呼声，即为所有阶层延长布什时代的减税措施，包括收入超过25万美元的夫妇和超 过20万美元的个人。
很多经济学家认为，复苏还很脆弱，不能冒险增税，这样做即使不会造成经济增长停顿，也会使之放缓。
盖特纳说，复苏力度将会如何，仍有一定的不确定性，而这种情况可能影响着企业和个人的支出决定。他并不认为这是为高收入阶层延长减税政策的理由，他说，多数民间机构都预测经济会不快不慢地增长，公众对复苏的信心也会不断增强。
很多经济学家认为，对高收入阶层增税有可能促使消费者控制支出。高盛(Goldman Sachs)一份研究报告预测，如果减税措施到期，2011年的经济增长率可能会减少近0.5个百分点。
根 据原定计划，布什时代的所有减税政策都将在今年年底到期，这意味着，如果国会希望避免税收全面增加，它就必须行动起来。政治策略人士说，这可能会让共和党 人获得优势，因为如果民主党不同意延长针对高收入人群的减税措施，那么共和党就可以在事实上“绑架”针对所有人群的减税措施，让它们都不能延长。
The Obama administration will allow tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire on schedule, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday, setting up a clash with Republicans and a small but vocal group of Democrats who want to delay the looming tax increases.
Mr. Geithner said the White House would allow taxes on top earners to increase in 2011 as part of an effort to bring down the U.S. budget deficit. He said the White House plans to extend expiring tax cuts for middle- and lower-income Americans, and expects to undertake a broader revision of the tax code next year.
'We believe it is appropriate to let those tax cuts that go to the most fortunate expire,' Mr. Geithner said at a breakfast with reporters.
His comments came as a number of Democrats, including North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, have begun echoing calls from Republicans and some economists to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all earners, including couples earning above $250,000 and individuals earning above $200,000.
Many economists believe the recovery is too fragile to risk raising taxes and that doing so could delay, if not stall, economic growth.
Mr. Geithner said there's 'still some uncertainty about how strong the recovery is going to be,' which may be affecting spending decisions by businesses and individuals. He discounted that as a reason to extend the tax cuts for top earners, saying most private forecasts show moderate economic growth and increasing public confidence in the recovery.
Many economists say raising rates on top earners could prompt consumers to rein in spending. A Goldman Sachs research report projects the expiration of the tax cuts could shave just under 0.5 percentage points off growth in 2011.
All the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year, meaning Congress must act if it wants to avoid raising taxes across the board. Political strategists said that could give Republicans an edge, since they could essentially hold the entire package hostage unless Democrats agree to extend the cuts for high-income earners.