Battle lines drawn on Bush-era tax cuts

AP

(CBS News) Here's one thing most Republicans and Democrats can agree on: Congress should act to keep taxes from going up for the average American when the Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of the year.

Particularly in an election year, however, coming to agreement to do so is much easier said than done.

On Wednesday, the Democrat-led Senate plans to hold a procedural vote to start considering a $250 billion Democratic bill that would extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 per year and couples making $250,000 per year. The tax cuts on income above those levels would be allowed to expire, which would mean increased taxes on 2.5 million of the nation's wealthiest households. (The highest rates would increase from 33 percent to 36 percent and 35 percent to 39.6 percent.) The Democratic plan would also increase the estate tax, which is now 35 percent on estates over $5 million per person, to 55 percent on estates over $1 million per person. It would also increase the top capital gains tax rate and limit itemized tax deductions.

The Democratic plan, which is similar though not identical to President Obama's proposal, needs 60 votes to proceed. If it gets those votes, Republicans plan to offer their alternative tax plan as an amendment. The $405 billion GOP plan would extend the tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthiest American, while (unlike the Democratic plan) allowing certain tax breaks to expire for millions of the poorest Americans. Republicans maintain that those tax breaks, which benefit low income college students and recipients of the earned income tax credit and Child Tax Credit, were always meant to be temporary.

It's possible that Senate Democrats and Republicans will agree on an alternate way forward before the vote takes place. If they do not, the Democratic plan is likely to fall short of the 60 votes it needs to move forward - which means the GOP plan would never come to a vote. House Republicans plan to vote next week on a plan similar to the Senate Republican plan, which would extend all the Bush tax cuts for one year.

All of this is political theater at this point, of course: The Senate Democratic plan can't pass the Republican-led House, and the House Republican plan can't pass the Democrat-led Senate. But the posturing plays into Democratic efforts to criticize Republicans as favoring the rich at the expense of average Americans.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Democrats on that front Tuesday stating that "this is more about messaging or passing the buck than it is about helping anybody or preventing an economic calamity at the end of this year."

Democrats, meanwhile, pointed to the competing plans to hammer home their message.

"When the Senate votes tomorrow, let's remember what they're voting on," Vice President Joe Biden said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "The other side claims that this is the best way to grow the economy, and they say that you know if you take care of - and I believe they believe it - if you take care of the very wealthy, if you lean into the top, everything will as the old phrase goes, trickle down. Now, that's their way of saying it's the best way to grow the economy. The problem is, you know, we've seen that movie before, and we know how it ends."

A White House report released Tuesday found that without action to extend the cuts, a family of four making $50,000 per year will see its taxes increase $2,200. Biden argued that Republicans realize if they allow final votes on the Democratic plan to extend the cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans, they won't have the popular support to extend them for top earners down the road.

"What they're doing is very simple, and you can understand it from their perspective, they're holding the middle class tax cuts hostage," he said.

With reporting by John Nolen, Jill Jackson and Chloe Arensberg.

[angeljperea]

KEEPING IT THOUGHTFULLY HONEST: The Liar, Rep. Kevin McCarthy from Bakersfield, the Republican leader that is number 3 on the political prostitutes campaign money-taking list for services rendered continues to lie and distort facts that " Democrats would have to explain their opposition to the GOP plan after Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill agreed two years ago to extend tax breaks across all income levels." And ""They're going to have to answer why they're flip-flopping in a bad economy," McCarthy said, "We need to get the country growing." THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH IS: According to Congressional record, Huffington Post and Senator Sander, in documented reports that on Friday, December 10, 2010, on a trade-off between the President and Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy House republicans that had held a combo hostage the continuing of unemployment benefits for thousands of needy Americans that lost their job to Outsourced jobs to Chinas as well as the setting a terrible precedent to divert money away from our Social Security Trust Fund to threaten its future in order to pay the republican's RANSON to give their billionaires and Millionaires interest to continue extension of Bush tax cuts in order trade for these 2 hostages issues. THE SECOND INCONVENIENT TRUTH IS: there's a problem with their 30 republican so-called jobs bills in the House: The Huffington Post reports that five noted economists interviewed stated "that the GOP jobs package contributes NO meaningful impact on job creation in the near term," nor "likely to do much in the long term, either."While they obstructed the President's Job Bill for the past year, meanwhile 12.5 Million unemployed American have been asking what happen to our manufacturing jobs? So McCarthy, Liar, Liar, Liar YOUR PANTS ARE ON FIRE! But Middle Class Americans will remember YOUR shameful and disgraceful continuing republican policies in November!
Go to: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gop-tax-cuts-20120728,0,5136053.story

[Libertyorwhat]

Call for Resignation
for all US elected officials that have sinned the Norquist Pledge (taxpayer protection pledge).


Call for congressional and DOJ investigation of the Norquist Pledge group and actives to determine the extent of the actives of this group and or possible violation of Law.

As It has alleged that a single Unelected Person by use of a Pledge has effectively completed a Partial coup of the US congress and by the Use of the Pledge has corrupted the process of government the persons agreeing to the pledge( by the use of deigning reelection funds he has take power to dictate the Policy to the GOP and the US Congress to the determent of the US population.

Congress is intended represent the American People not to unknown political influence for Funding of unknown people or corporations funding the Pledge Or Possible hidden funding by foreign Governments via corporations.
They the Congress should not be subject to distorted judgment or beholden to Companies that have supported the "Norquist pledge".

I say "NO VOTE" for any and all that have sinned the taxpayer protection pledge as it subverts the process of the US Government! Go to Please sine this petition and reclaim your government or live with the results.
"http://www.atr.org/taxpayer-protection-pledge" find the offending person on the list in your area and send them an Email about that you think about this behavior! We can change their behavior or a No vote for any person on the list or legal removal by election!
Please resend this to all Americans voting citizens

http://signon.org/sign/call-for-resignation-1?source=c.em.cp&r_by=5192531

[angeljperea]

KEEPING IT THOUGHTFULLY HONEST: Hey Mr. McConnell and the Senate Obstructionists, Thank you for your recorded up-and-down vote to make your party's position perfectly clear for the next election! Let's see! It's was to a vote to STOP the back to the future of more G.W Bush depression economic Policy of tax cuts for Billionaires and millionaires to create another Trillion dollars of national debt! The Senate was able to avoid the 138th filibuster to allow "voted on Wednesday to keep current rates for people with incomes of less than $250,000. Tax rates would rise by 4 percent on incomes above $250,000 for couples and $200,000 for single filers. Popular breaks like the child tax credit would be preserved." The Tax relief extension passed on a vote of 51 Democrats and Independents for to 48 republicans against which provides a short-term win for the Middle Class Americans! However, this Senate pass bill that is supported by our President must deal with the political reality of needing passage in the House! Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his republicans will NOT allow a vote since they know that if he puts this bill on the House floor, his republicans will be trouble going on the record to vote against it. So it won't happen! THE INCONVENINET TRUTH: However, it does make it perfectly clear what many of us have been saying, Who stands for Middle Class Americans and who is more interested in continuing the class war to protect the Billionaires and Millionaires?

[TimeToEvolve]

Actually letting the tax cuts expire for the rich will be a huge shot in the arm for the economy. The rich do not create jobs, in fact it is just the opposite. If anything give more tax breaks to the job creators who are you an me in the middle class.

[TimeIsNowfor99]

Spot on. Demand. Omes from disposable middle class income more anywhere else. Demand is what creates job. Even if the rich created jobs with all their government subsidies, which they do not, the jobs would not last because ther would be no disposable income in the ,idle class to sustain the jobs. The real key to the future is taxing cital gains as ordinary income. The rich will still invest because there would beno better options, and the redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the top fraction of our nation would halt.

[TimeToEvolve]

The Bush Cheney Crime Family tax cuts, along with their un-necessary occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq is exactly what put us into this mess. It was not Obama who spent us into oblivion, it was the Crime Family of lying war criminals.

[sftommy]

TAX CUTS!
Never real. It's just passing this generations tax to a new generation of Americans.

DEMs cut taxes last year when they cut spending.

GOP put their "NO NEW TAX" on our kids! Selling $1.3T in debt as US Treasury Securities to be paid by tax collections made 30 years down the road. Grover Norquist made a liar out of every GOP Congressman.

[sjc_1]

Let the $70 billion for the rich expire this year and the $230 billion for everyone else phased out over the next two years. Easy to do, brings in needed revenue and will not harm the economy.

[CaptainSmollett]

Do you liberals really believe that the rich having more means you have less? That the rich adversely effect your financial circumstances, and your lot in life? Do you really believe that taxing them will make you better off?

Are you really that stupid...or just consumed with envy?

[CaptainSmollett]

The Democrats are appealing to their constituent's sense of ENVY in an attempt to inflame their base. They are reinforcing the belief that their constituents are 'victims' of an unfair system which must be changed. Thus taxing the rich is viewed as "fair".

BOGUS! The fact is that the rich do not keep their wealth in a shoebox. Taxing anyone will take money out of the hands of consumers and investors, and will further harm an an already faltering economy. So, to you liberals, your envy is going to bite you in the butt and perpetuate our economic suffering.

[wdrussell1]

Those tax cuts were designed to expire.
Let them expire.
Then we can get Obama tax cuts for the middle class.