Obama wants simpler tax code

Washington: US President Barack Obama yesterday called for Congress to consider simplifying the byzantine US tax code next year as lawmakers struggled to prevent tax rates rising for most Americans in January.

As the president eyed a broad tax rewrite, the House of Representatives prepared for a showdown with the Senate over the details of a complex $856 billion (€648bn) grab bag of tax breaks that Obama has worked out with Republicans.

With a first vote set for Monday in the Senate, House Democrats said they would toughen estate-tax provisions that they say are too generous for the wealthiest sliver of Americans.

But it was unclear whether their version would survive a vote in the Senate, where Republicans have managed to block an array of Democratic initiatives.