President Obama will propose $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of a 'long-term deficit reduction' plan aimed at slowing the nation's national debt.

During President Obama's news conference on July 11, 2011, he said: “So, when you hear folks saying ‘Well, the president shouldn’t want massive job killing tax increases when the economy is this weak.’ Nobody’s looking to raise taxes right now. We’re talking about potentially 2013 and the out years.”

During an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd on August 5, 2009, when asked how raising taxes on anyone helps the economy, President Obama said: "The last thing you want to do is raise taxes in the middle of a recession because that would suck up... take more demand out of the economy and put businesses in a further hole."