GOP: White House proposes $1.6T tax increase

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans familiar with a new White House offer on avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff say it looks almost exactly like President Barack Obama's budget proposal in February.

GOP aides say Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented an offer calling for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue over the coming decade, extending the 2 percentage point payroll tax deduction or something comparable to it and $50 billion in stimulus spending on infrastructure projects.

The White House plan calls for $960 billion over the coming decade by increasing tax rates and taxes on investment income on upper-bracket earners and $600 billion in additional taxes.

The aides required anonymity because of the sensitivity of revealing the offer made by Geithner to top Republican lawmakers in meetings in the Capitol on Thursday.