Obama May Defer Planned Tax Increases

Barack Obama said Tuesday that if current economic conditions continue, he may delay the implementation of some of his programs that would require tax increases.

In an interview on CNBC that will air Tuesday night, Obama was asked if he would hold off on programs that on the net raise taxes if it could potentially slow job creation.

“Some of those you could possibly defer,” Obama said. “But I think the basic principle of restoring fairness to our economy and encouraging bottom up economic growth is important.”

“There’s no doubt that any policies I implement are going to be based on the economic situation that I inherit from George Bush,” Obama said, conceding that the situation may not allow him to implement some of his desired programs.

“You know, one of the things I believe in is a manager of the economy, is you should base your decisions on facts and not ideology.”

The John McCain campaign immediately jumped on Obama’s statement as an admission that the Illinois senator’s tax plan would hurt the economy.

“Barack Obama’s admission that his tax increases could harm the economy begs the question as to why he supports them. At a time when family budgets in this country are stretched thin and employers are facing tough economic challenges, the idea that Barack Obama would even propose tax increases reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the economy,” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

“We will not get our economy back on track by raising income taxes, Social Security taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes and corporate taxes as Barack Obama proposes. That’s change we just can’t afford.”

Here is video of part of the interview.