Obama adviser Volcker says record deficits could lead to new VAT tax

White House adviser Paul Volcker said the United States may need to consider raising taxes to control deficits. He also said a European-style value-added tax could gain support. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve who is an outside adviser to President Barack Obama, said the value-added tax "was not as toxic an idea" as it has been in the past, according to a Reuters report. Volcker made the remarks at a New York Historical Society event Tuesday night. Volcker also suggested that a carbon or energy-related tax may become necessary to bring the budget back into check. Volcker acknowledged that the ideas weren't popular but that the outlook on entitlement spending and budget deficits were grim without some changes...more