–Incoming House Speaker Calls House Vote a Dem Political ‘Maneuver’
–‘This Is Nonsense;’ Bipartisan Tax Talks Should Nail Down Deal Quickly
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Republican leader John Boehner blasted
House Democrats Thursday for scheduling a vote later in the day on the
middle class portion of the Bush era tax cuts, calling the vote “chicken
crap.”
At a briefing, Boehner said the House Democratic vote is little
more than a political “maneuver.”
“This is nonsense,” he said.
The House is expected to vote Thursday afternoon on a $1.5 trillion
tax cut package that extends the middle class portions of the Bush era
tax cuts and includes an adjustment to the alternative minimum tax.
The House bill would make permanent the tax cuts on income under
$200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples.
It would also include lower tax rates for capital gains and
dividends and eliminate the marriage penalty and expand the child
credit. The package would extend through 2011 an expired adjustment to
the AMT that shields thousands of taxpayers from the AMT.
Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated the package
would cost $1.5 trillion over a decade, with $1.3 trillion due to the
extension of the middle class tax cuts.
Boehner said the focus should be on tax cut negotiations that have
just begun between Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, White House budget
director Jack Lew and four congressional negotiators: Democratic senator
Max Baucus, Republican senator Jon Kyl, Democratic congressman Chris Van
Hollen and Republican congressman Dave Camp.
Boehner said the tax cut talks should not “beat around the bush”
but get to an agreement quickly to extend all of the Bush era tax cuts.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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