Obama budget to target wealthy

President Barack Obama's next planned budget will hit America's wealthy with higher taxes to help cut $4 trillion (€3 trillion) from the country's deficit over the next 10 years.

His $3.8 trillion (€2.87 trillion) election-year budget - as much a political document as spending plan - sets him apart from Republicans opposed to higher taxes and believing the only way to cut government debt is to slash the heavy burden of social programmes, particularly the federal Medicare health insurance program for Americans at age 65.