WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A strong majority of business economists in a recent poll indicated the U.S. government should include increasing tax revenue as part of its budget plan.
In the poll sponsored by the National Association for Business Economics, 75 percent of the 250 respondents indicated the plan to reduce the budget deficit should include higher taxes, the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.
A minority, 19 percent, indicated tax reform should be "revenue neutral," while 5 percent indicated tax revenues should be reduced.
In Washington, Republicans have been adamantly opposed to tax hikes for some businesses and for wealthy Americans, which was the plan favored by the White House.
On Sunday in The Washington Post, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., repeated the assertion that Republicans were opposed to tax hikes, saying the budget deficit should be handled by "a legislative agenda that boosts economic growth through reducing the regulatory and tax burden."
In contrast, 44 percent of the business economists in the survey indicated the budget deficit should be handled with a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes with the majority coming from spending cuts. Thirty-seven percent indicated money saved or raised should be accomplished equally with spending cuts and tax hikes.
