Senate Democratic leaders are proposing a 5% surtax on those earning $1 million a year as a new way pay for President Obama’s jobs plan, turning to an issue with populist appeal as they line up support for a vote, possibly next week.

The shift is an acknowledgement that the president does not have support among his Democratic allies for taxing those earning less than $1 million. Obama’s proposal had relied on tax hikes for households earning beyond $200,000, or $250,000 for couples.

“We’re going to move to have the richest of the rich pay a little bit more,” Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader, said Wednesday. A vote is expected “within the next few days,” Reid said.

Democratic leaders in the Senate have slow-walked the president’s proposal since it was first introduced last month, knowing they would have difficulty securing support from some within their ranks. Several conservative senators or those up for re-election next year have opposed any new taxes. Others argue that the upper-income tax hikes Obama proposed would snare small business owners.

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