
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 8, 1990                   TAG: 9005080427
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

BUSH AGREES TO CONSIDER HIGHER TAXES

The White House committed itself on Monday to discuss new taxes in budget negotiations with Congress but stopped short of saying that President Bush is now prepared to accept higher taxes to reduce the deficit.

Instead of repeating Bush's "no new taxes" pledge once more, the White House shifted its stance for the first time, saying it would impose "no preconditions" on budget discussions. The White House spokesman, Marlin Fitzwater, said the president wanted "an open debate that is unfettered with conclusions about positions taken in the past."

Although the White House has always been vague on the issue of how long Bush's campaign pledge against taxes would hold, Bush aides said on Monday that the president really only intended the pledge to last for his first year in office. After that, a senior Bush adviser said, it would be merely "a goal."

"His interest is in stimulating the economy and keeping strong, job-oriented growth on track," the adviser said. "And he approaches that goal with the idea that taxation is not helpful in the process."

It remains to be seen whether the president has truly relaxed his pledge, or whether he merely wants to look reasonable and cast Congress as intransigent.

Democratic congressional leaders indicated that they would proceed with the budget talks, but were clearly wary of being drawn into discussions that could result in a tax increase that the White House would seek to pin on the Democrats.

Bush's position on taxes has softened at least partly because of growing fears that a weaker economy and higher interest rates than the administration predicted have made earlier deficit calculations out of date.

Earlier calculations by the administration showed that $36 billion would have to be cut from the budget for the fiscal year 1991 to meet the $64 billion deficit target mandated by law. The administration now estimates that $45 billion would have to be cut, but Democratic lawmakers suggest that as much as $60 billion would have to be cut, or raised in new revenues.

The speaker of the House, Thomas Foley of Washington, and the Senate majority leader, George Mitchell of Maine, said on Monday that they would meet with fellow Democrats today to explore the president's invitation, extended Sunday night, to open a series of discussions that would lead to a budget summit.

Although both parties have been careful to avoid taking the lead in proposing new taxes, most discussion has centered on increasing what the administration likes to call "user fees," such as the federal gasoline tax, rather than raising income tax rates.

by CNB