The Hill News

The spending talks led by Vice President Biden are headed toward recommending closing a number of tax loopholes to raise revenue, a member of those talks said Monday.

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the assistant Democratic leader and member of the bipartisan budget talks led by Biden, said he was optimistic that the group can reach a deal, discussions on which should pick up momentum next week.

"If you're closing loopholes, I don't think that you're increasing taxes. And the American people want us to close up these loopholes," Clyburn said on MSNBC. "They want everybody to put skin in the game, and I think that's where we're headed."

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have made reference to the possibility of eliminating loopholes as a mechanism for raising government revenue. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate's Gang of Six fiscal talks, has raised the possibility of eliminating loopholes in exchange for lower marginal rates.

Perhaps more significantly, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), the only House Republican delegate to the Biden talks, has also opened the door to supporting tax reform that eliminates loopholes.

Conservative groups have strongly warned Republicans that these kinds of reforms would be considered a tax hike, and an abrogation of the pledges many of them made not to raise taxes. That could make a number of GOP lawmakers, especially i! n a political environment where incumbents are facing conserva! tive pri mary challenges, wary of going along with any deal that closes loopholes.

Clyburn disputed the notion that these would constitute tax hikes.

"You call them tax increases, we call them eliminating subsidies and really having an effective tax collection," he said.

He said the atmosphere in the talks has been positive and that staffs for all the members of the talks have been working well together.

"I'm very optimistic that we're going to get something done," he said.