Barack Obama: US wealthiest must pay more tax

US President Obama has reiterated his call for high earners in the US to pay more in taxes, in his first news conference since winning re-election.

He called for quick legislation to rule out tax rises on the first $250,000 (£158,000) of income, but refused to extend cuts for the wealthiest 2%.
"We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy," Mr Obama said.
The US faces a so-called "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax rises.
The fiscal cliff, looming at the end of 2012, would see the George W Bush-era tax cuts expire in combination with automatic, across-the-board reductions to military and domestic spending.
The automatic cuts are set to occur because Congress failed to reach a deal on deficit reduction after a stand-off over the US debt ceiling in mid-2011.
Loophole offer Congressional Republicans have said since last week's US elections that they are open to raising revenue through tax reform and closure of loopholes, but oppose tax rises on the wealthy.
Glenn Hubbard, an economic advisor to Mitt Romney's failed presidential bid, writing in the Financial Times, called on fellow Republicans to accept the need for the rich to pay more tax, albeit through closing loopholes such as tax deductions.
Other Republicans favour ending the right of Americans to deduct mortgage interest payments from their taxable income - something analysts say is likely to hurt the middle classes far more than top earners.
During his news conference on Wednesday, Mr Obama was dismissive of a loophole-only reform, telling reporters that "the math tends not to work" in helping to cut the deficit.
"It really is arithmetic, not calculus," he said.
The president has long opposed extending the Bush-era tax cuts for those earning above $250,000 a year, but gave into Republican demands in 2010 when the cuts were last up for renewal.
On Wednesday, Mr Obama said that would not happen this time.
"A modest tax increase on the wealthy is not going to break their backs," he said. "They'll still be wealthy."
But the president said he was confident that the White House and Congress could reach a deal before 1 January to avoid the "fiscal cliff", as the US economy could not afford it coming to pass.
In doing so, he distanced himself from some in his own party who want the combined tax rises and cuts to happen, in order to give Mr Obama a better negotiating position.

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