The Nation : No New Taxes, Baker Says

Chief of Staff Howard H. Baker Jr. said that President Reagan has no plans to consider new taxes to get the budget deficit down, despite a suggestion to that effect from his former economic architect. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sunday, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Richard G. Darman said an increase in excise taxes on cigarettes, liquor and telephone service could form the basis for a budget compromise with Congress. But Baker said: “I don’t think the President is going to agree to discuss new taxes at all.”