WASHINGTON - Republicans rejected a tax deal at a White House meeting on Thursday that would have boosted the economy in the short term and closed a number of tax breaks for businesses and wealthy people, Democrats said.
The deal would have avoided an overall increase in the US tax burden, Democratic officials said, to satisfy Republican demands that a wide-ranging budget deal not include tax hikes.
Negotiators have been unable to resolve the tax issue as they try to extend the government's borrowing authority and avert a looming default.
