Paul Volcker : The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax,

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6355N520100406

NEW YORK

Tue Apr 6, 2010 7:57pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past and also said a carbon or other energy-related tax may become necessary.

Though he acknowledged that both were still unpopular ideas, he said getting entitlement costs and the U.S. budget deficit under control may require such moves. "If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes," he said.

(Reporting by Steven C. Johnson and Leah Schnurr; editing by Carol Bishopric)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6355N520100406