Obama raises taxes for rich in new budget

The US President has unveiled a $4 trillion budget
for 2016 that will increase taxes on higher-income
Americans and provide tax relief for the middle-
class.
President Barack Obama said his plans were
“practical” and “not partisan,” as Monday’s tax
hikes totaling $2 trillion were unveiled.
Obama said his proposal would “help working
families feel more secure with paychecks that go
further,” in a move likely to anger his Republican
rivals.
The budget includes $478 billion to upgrade
infrastructure and sizable measures to cut costs
for people paying for child care and education –
touchstone issues for Democrats.
Overturning mandatory caps on defence and other
spending, the budget will add $474 billion to US
debt.
In the run-up to the it’s release, the Obama
administration said the US economy had improved
enough to raise some taxes and increase spending
to help Americans who haven’t benefited from the
recovery.
Obama’s 2016 budget assumes the world’s largest
economy will grow at about 3.1 percent this
calendar year, with unemployment at 5.4 percent
and inflation of 1.4 percent.
The deficit for 2016 would stand at 2.5 percent,
comfortably below the three percent level
economists deem sustainable.
The budget also includes spending to counter
“Russian pressure and aggressive action” in
eastern Europe.
Ukraine would receive $117 million in funding, as
well as a possible $1 billion sovereign loan
guarantee for 2016.
Moldova and Georgia would get $51 million “for
countering Russian pressure and destabilizing
activities.”
There would also be funding to help defeat the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), around $
1 billion to boost governance in Central America,
the starting point for many migrants arriving in the
US, and $14 billion to support cybersecurity.
Republicans, however, say Obama’s proposals
would threaten the recovery and the focus should
be on eliminating the budget deficit.