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Monday, January 24, 2005
Tax Issues to be Addressed in Congressional Agenda
BNA News Services reported today that a package of ten bills reflecting the Senate Republican agenda will most likely include a measure aimed at either repealing or reforming the estate tax. The measure is expected to be sponsored by Senator Kyl (R-AZ), who sponsored estate tax legislation in the the 108th Congress. His last measure aimed to both make estate tax repeal permanent, as well as accelerate full repeal to 2005 (full repeal is currently scheduled to take place for one year in 2010). The estate tax, which only affects the wealthiest 2 percent of the population, is the most progressive tax in place in America.
Also on the Senate Republican agenda is making the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent. Some of the tax cuts are scheduled to expire in the upcoming years, and GOP leaders hope to make those cuts permanent during the 109th Congress. Chuck Collins, cofounder of the group Responsible Wealth, noted the "unseemliness of voting for tax cuts for the rich during a war." Lawmakers should note -- as they vote on provisions to spend more in both Iraq and Afghanistan -- whether or not this country can really afford to be making tax cuts permanent while both fighting a war and contemplating an expensive overhaul of Social Security.
Posted by Becky Lewis
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