国际英语新闻：Obama presses both parties to find consensus on tax cuts

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. President Barack Obama pressed on Monday that Democrats and Republicans should collaborate on the discussion of the soon-to-expire Bush-era tax cuts to reach a bipartisan compromise in the near term.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Dec. 2 a bill to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class Americans, letting extra cuts for the wealthy to expire. But the bill was blocked on Dec. 4 in the Senate since the Republicans vowed to extend additional low tax rates for the wealthy Americans as well.

Both parties should find consensus and put forward a solution, although it was not fully in line with each party's goal, Obama noted in a speech on Monday at a community college in North Carolina.

Obama and Democratic congressional leaders intended to extend the tax cuts only for individuals making less than 200,000 dollars and married couples making less than 250,000 dollars annually.

However, Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, including the most wealthy taxpayers, claiming that is was not appropriate to add taxes on anybody when the economic growth and labor market were weak.

Analysts predicted that both parties were closing in on a deal to temporarily continue the Bush-era tax cuts at all income levels in coming weeks.