Geithner Defends Plan to Let Tax Cuts for Wealthy Expire

By VICTORIA MCGRANE And MICHAEL R. CRITTENDEN
WSJ

WASHINGTON—Extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans would imperil the fragile economic recovery, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday, as the Obama administration pushes to let the Bush-era policies expire at the end of the year.

Mr. Geithner, in remarks before the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said "there is no credible argument that the purpose of government is to borrow from future generations of Americans to finance an extension of tax cuts for the top 2%."

Mr. Geithner, taking aim at congressional Republicans' push to extend the tax cuts for those with household incomes of at least $250,000, said such a move would hurt efforts to address the nation's long-term fiscal stability.

"We cannot pretend that deficits don't matter, as some on the other side have notably suggested...Borrowing to finance tax cuts for the top 2% would be a $700 billion fiscal mistake," he said.

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