Specifically, the President would make permanent the expanded American Opportunity and Earned Income credits and extend through 2016 the current exclusionfromtaxableincome for cancellation of indebtedness recognized on a primary residence.
The problem is ultimately traceable back to the tax subsidy--the exclusion of the value of health coverage fromtaxableincome for both payroll and income taxes.
But in reality, targets would almost certainly include popular preferences such as deductions for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and charitable gifts as well as the exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance fromtaxableincome.