Obama pushes for consensus as tough talks on US tax cuts continue

Dec 6, 2010, 20:23 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Monday pushed his own Democrats and opposition Republicans for a deal that to prevent Americans from facing economy-damaging income tax hikes that are due to start in January.

The White House said that its tough negotiations with the two political parties in Congress over an extension of Bush-era tax cuts could be concluded within days.

Democrats want the tax cuts extended only for households making 250,000 or less per year, while Republicans have insisted they be extended for all income earners. US media have speculated that a compromise could see the tax cuts for all extended another two years.

'We've got to find consensus here,' Obama said in a speech from Winston-Salem in North Carolina.

Obama's economic policies were put further under pressure by an unemployment report last week that showed the jobless rate rose to 9.8 per cent in November.

He said the US recovery from the 2008-09 recession was 'beginning to take hold' but is 'simply not happening fast enough.'

The White House and Congress should 'do whatever it takes to accelerate job creation and economic growth,' Obama said.