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Friday, September 26, 2008
Tax Legislation Update: House Prepares Response to Senate
Extenders
 Hose Democrats have unveiled a $620 billion tax bill (HR 7060) that would extend dozens of expiring tax cuts, including renewable energy tax incentives. The bill is fully offset, and if put to a vote will likely pass has been approved by the House, 257-166. The bill contains $14.2 billion in expiring renewable energy tax cuts, $46 billion in other expiring tax cuts, including a provision to lower the income threshold at which filers can claim the child tax credit, and is fully offset.
The Senate, however, despite having approved the House bill's offsets in one form or another on various bills remains allergic to fiscal responsibility. The bill has also drawn a veto threat from President Bush, not so much because of the bill's contents, but because it doesn't come with a bunch of other stuff included in Senate-passed HR 6049.
AMT Patch
The House has passed a bill (HR 7005) that would patch the AMT and is not fully offset, but that's just not good enough for the Senate: It's their way or the highway. Senate Republicans apparently are only interested in passing one bill and one bill only -- HR 6049, the partially offset package approved by the Senate earlier this week. And fearing the minority party or hoping to spare Bush the political pain of vetoing a bill that would effective lower taxes for 22 million families, Democrat and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Sen. Max Baucus (RD-MT) has decided to run away and hide in the bushes wishing it would all just go away wimpering, "Republicans won't do it. They [the House] need to just take up the Senate package."
Image by Flickr user Brooks Elliott used under a Creative Commons license
Posted by Craig Jennings
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