GOP: Dems making 'baseless' charges that Boehner plan would tax middle class

House Republicans on Tuesday rejected Democrats' claims that the GOP's fiscal-cliff plan raisies taxes on the middle class.

Democrats have accused the GOP of proposing a backdoor tax hike on the middle class since Monday, when House Republicans put forward a counterproposal to President Obama's solution to the fiscal cliff. The GOP plan includes $800 billion in new tax revenues, which Republicans said would come from limiting tax deductions for the wealthy.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), said those claims are "baseless" and do not reflect anything Republicans put forward.

"Independent, bipartisan studies have shown that the math for tax reform works," Steel told The Hill. "Washington Democrats need to stop repeating these baseless accusations — and the press should stop reporting them — until and unless they can back them up."

On Monday and Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said there is no way to pull out $800 billion more in revenue from the wealthy, and that the middle class would have to pay more.

Also Tuesday, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said he also believes the GOP plan would necessitate some form of tax hike on the middle class.

"Next year, we'll close unspecified tax loopholes," DeFazio said on the House floor. "What would that be? Do they want to take away the middle class's one tax shelter, that is, the ability to deduct the interest on their home mortgage? Probably. They're going to raise $800 billion, it's going to come from something pretty big."

Republicans did not offer a specific tax plan on Monday but have said groups such as the Tax Policy Center and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget have made several proposals for ending deductions on the wealthy that would help Republicans find $800 billion in revenue. These include putting a cap on itemized deductions and limiting the total deductions, credits and exclusions for high earners.

---