White House: No middle-class tax hike

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is firm about his commitment not to raise taxes on the middle class, despite what two officials said, the White House said Monday.

"I want to just state again clearly here that the president has made a very clear commitment to not raise taxes on middle-class families," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said during a news briefing.

During separate Sunday talk shows, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and chief economic adviser Larry Summers would not rule out tax increases to help control the deficit, starting with healthcare reform.

However, Summers said on CBS' "Face the Nation" the president was clear he wouldn't "pursue any of his priorities ... in ways that are primarily burdening middle-class families."

Pressed by several questions about whether the remarks opened the door to a tax increase on middle-class households, Gibbs said: "Let me be precise. The president's clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year."

Gibbs sidestepped a question about whether the comments were discussed during the daily economic briefing.

"We talked about a number of economic issues this morning in the Oval Office as part of the daily briefing," he said.