President Barack Obama and Republicans crept closer to negotiations on avoiding a recession-threatening package of automatic tax increases and spending cuts, but the White House reaffirmed it would not budge on demands for higher taxes on the wealthy.

With a new AP-GFK poll showing clear support for Obama’s position and dwindling backing for cutting government services to curb the climbing US budget deficit, the president and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner spoke by telephone on Wednesday for the first time in days about a way to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff which would occur on January 1.

The telephone contact, disclosed by a Boehner spokesman, raises the possibility that negotiations could soon resume on heading off what some economists warn could be a serious blow to an economy still recovering from the Great Recession.

So far, Republican leaders have said they would only agree to higher tax revenues by closing loopholes or reducing tax breaks, not by raising rates as demanded by Obama. The opposition has struggled, however, to remain united and find its footing in talks with a president emboldened by his November election victory and unified congressional Democrats.

While insisting that tax rates go up on the top 2 per cent of American earners, Obama, too, has called for government spending cuts but by less than the Republicans want.

Obama, addressing business leaders Wednesday, said the White House and Republicans could reach an agreement “in about a week” if the Republicans drop their opposition to raising taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year.

“If we can get the leadership on the Republican side to take that framework, to acknowledge that reality, than the numbers actually aren’t that far apart,” Obama said.

Administration officials are hardening their warnings that Obama is willing to risk going over the cliff. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that the Obama administration is “absolutely” ready for that risky step.

Geithner said in an interview on CNBC the administration thinks budget deficits are so large that they can’t be closed without boosting tax rates on the wealthiest 2 per cent of Americans. He also said that the administration would reject a budget plan that didn’t include an increase in the federal borrowing limit, which is expected to expire early next year.

However, Geithner said he still thinks progress is being made in the budget negotiations and that the outlines of an agreement are becoming clearer.

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