He called for quick legislation to rule out tax rises on the first $250,000 of income, but refused to extend cuts for the wealthiest 2%.

 

"We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy," Mr Obama said.

 

The US faces an end-of-year "fiscal² cliff" of spending cuts and tax rises.

 

The fiscal cliff would see the George W Bush-era tax cuts expire in combination with automatic, across-the-board reductions to military and domestic spending.

 

 

Some $607bn of savings³ and tax rises are planned, including reductions in the defence budget, the end of an employee tax holiday, changes to Medicare allowances and higher personal taxes. 

 

The lower paid are set to lose some child and income credits, but Mr Obama has made fewer references to other portions of the stimulus⁴ deal set to expire beyond the tax cuts.

 

The fiscal cliff is due to take effect because Congress failed to reach a deal on deficit⁵ reduction after a stand-off over the US debt ceiling in mid-2011.

 

Congressional Republicans have said since last week's US elections that they are open to raising revenue through tax reform and closure of loopholes, but oppose tax rises on the wealthy.

 

Glenn Hubbard, an economic adviser⁶ to Republican Mitt⁷ Romney's failed presidential bid, writing in the Financial Times, called on fellow Republicans to accept the need for the rich to pay more tax, albeit⁸ through closing loopholes such as tax deductions¹⁰.

 

Other Republicans favour ending the right of Americans to deduct⁹ mortgage interest payments from their taxable income - something analysts¹¹ say is likely to hurt the middle classes far more than top earners.

 

During his news conference on Wednesday, Mr Obama was dismissive of a loophole-only reform, telling reporters that "the math tends not to work" in helping¹² to cut $1 trillion in the US deficit.

 

"It really is arithmetic, not calculus," he said.

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