The Treasury Department does not have the authority to delay the tax increases that will go into effect at the end of the year if the White House and Congress are unable to deal with the looming fiscal crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Bloomberg TV on Friday.

The law “does not give me the authority to give them – to let them avoid making some decisions on rates and policy,” Geithner said when asked whether he would freeze the withholding rates if the Obama administration and lawmakers were close to resolving the “fiscal cliff” or $600 billion worth of spending cuts and tax hikes that will start going into effect December 31.