Washington: The United States needs at least $ 550 billion in tax cuts to grow the economy, President George Bush said on April 15.

"We need tax relief of at least $ 550 billion now," he said.

The "best and fairest way" to restart the economy is by encouraging US consumers to spend more, Bush said.

And the fastest way to do that is to "grant them immediate tax relief", he said.

Bush said his proposed tax cut "will create 1.4 million jobs by the end of 2004".

The war in Iraq, the economic recession and efforts to keep the country safe from terrorist threats have "caused our government to run a deficit", Bush said.

"The best way to reduce the deficit is with more growth in our economy, which means more revenues to our treasury and less spending in Washington DC," he said to applause.

Bush addressed his remarks to a group of US small business owners.

On April 11 the Senate passed a $ 2.2 trillion budget blueprint that includes provisions to limit the size of any new tax cut to $ 350 billion.

The move is a setback for Bush's proposal for a massive $ 726 billion tax cut over 10 years -- though Bush still hopes for a bigger tax cut when lawmakers consider the specific legislation.