U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday Congress should enact compromise tax cut legislation and not hold "our entire economy hostage." In his weekly radio and Internet address, the President called on the House and Senate to take action now on his proposal to extend current tax rates on the first $250,000 of all annual incomes -- while allowing rates on any income over that amount to revert to where they were before temporary tax cuts were enacted during the administration of former President George W. Bush. "Under my plan, 97 percent of small business owners would avoid getting hit with any income tax hike whatsoever," he said. "In fact, I've cut taxes for small businesses 18 times since I've been President. And just this week, I ordered a series of new steps to help our small businesses grow and hire. "The only place we disagree is whether we keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans," Obama was quoted as saying by the United Press International (UPI).
