Obama seeks tax on wealthy, cuts in public debt

"In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans.

But we cannot afford USD 1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society.  We can’t afford it. And, I refuse to renew them again," Obama said.

The US president said the rising debt will cost the country jobs and damage its economy.

"It will prevent us from making the investments we need to win the future," Barack Obama said as he proposed a plan that aims to reduce the deficit by USD 4 trillion over the next 12 years.

Elaborating on his plans, Obama said, the policy approach borrowed from the recommendations of the bipartisan Fiscal Commission that he appointed last year and build on the roughly USD 1 trillion in deficit reduction he proposed in his 2012 budget.

"It is an approach that puts every kind of spending on the table -- but one that protects the middle class, our promise to seniors, and our investments in the future," the US President said.

"The first step in our approach is to keep annual domestic spending low by building on the savings that both parties agreed to last week. That step alone will save us about USD 750 billion over 12 years.

We will make the tough cuts necessary to achieve these savings, including in programs that I care deeply about, but I will not sacrifice the core investments that we need to grow and create jobs," Obama said, adding that the country would continue investing in medical research, clean technology and infrastructure.