Here’s what is new: The White House is saying, clearly, that they won’t permit the top tax rates to remain where they are. They’re taking House Speaker John A. Boehner’s proposed deal and rejecting it.

Recall what Boehner (R-Ohio) said:

For purposes of forging a bipartisan agreement that begins to solve the problem, we’re willing to accept new revenue, under the right conditions.

What matters is where the increased revenue comes from, and what type of reform comes with it.

Does the increased revenue come from government taking a larger share of what the American people earn through higher tax rates? 

Or does it come as the byproduct of a growing economy, energized by a simpler, cleaner, fairer tax code, with fewer loopholes, and lower rates for all? 

That looked like the outline of a deal. Republicans agree to raise revenues so long as they get the fig leaf of holding rates steady, or potentially even lowering them. The White House is saying the deal won’t work.

They’re saying that because they believe, as a matter of math, that the deal quite literally won’t work. “Higher revenues, lower rates” sounds good on paper, but it’s devilishly hard to do in practice.