Rejection of GOP “Cliff” counteroffer halt 3 day winning streak for US stocks

House Republicans offered a fiscal-cliff plan on Monday that raises new tax revenue without increasing income-tax rates, in a fresh bid to break jammed negotiations with the White House over year-end tax increases and spending cuts.

The White House quickly dismissed the plan, saying it represented nothing new.

In a letter to President Obama on Monday, House Republican leaders said their plan — based on a deficit-cutting proposal from former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles — would raise $800 billion in new revenue through what House Speaker John Boehner and others called “pro-growth tax reform” that lowers rates while closing special-interest loopholes and deductions.

The $800 billion figure is half of what Obama has proposed. The GOP proposal was quickly rejected by the administration.

“Their plan includes nothing new,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said.

Skittishness about the on-again off-again fiscal-cliff negotiations helped send U.S. stocks lower on Monday.

“With the fiscal cliff nearing, our priority remains finding a reasonable solution that can pass both the House and the Senate, and be signed into law in the next couple of weeks,” Boehner and other leaders wrote in a letter to Obama.

Overall the Republican proposal would slash the deficit by about $4.6 trillion over 10 years, including $600 billion in savings from Medicare and other health programs, The Wall Street Journal reported.

While the GOP lawmakers are offering revenue, they don’t provide specific examples of which loopholes and deductions they are targeting.

Meanwhile, the Republicans aren’t giving ground on allowing income-tax rates for the top 2% to snap back to higher rates. Obama used a Twitter question-and-answer session on Monday to press again for extending middle-class tax rates but insisted that rates rise for upper-income Americans.

Unless Congress acts, automatic spending cuts are set to begin on Jan. 1, along with increased tax rates for all income levels.

Via – MarketWatch

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