Posted on 05/09/2006 3:21:50 PM PDT by muleskinner
ABC radio reported that Congressional Republicans have agreed to an extension of G.W.'s tax cut proposal. 15 million taxpayers would have been a victim of the alternative minimum tax. The agreement also extends exiting low rate for capitol investment.
2 years only? I'm not sure why they didn't make it permanent. They still have a majority.
Is this the House, or both the House and Senate?
Because its not all that hard to pass things like this in the House...
If this doesn't include the Senate, then even this little extension is dead, dead, dead.
Why didn't they make it permanent? The second democrats get any control of anything, these tax cuts go away. For the rest of my lifetime, probably.
Extending it for 2 Years allows the issue to be used again in the 08 election. The Republicans have finally learned a few things from the Dems.
There's an election in two years.
Color me Not Surprised.
It is a majority in name only. There are plenty of Republicans who do not want taxes cut becuase it reduces the pie that they can use to insure their re-election. They have learned from their Dem Brothers how you hold on to power. You do it the old fashioned way - you buy it with the peoples own money by promising to give it back to them. What fools we are for getting ourselves in such a mess.
Might be some "strategery" involved here. The Democrat Presidential nominee in 2008 will have to answer the question if he/she would want to extend the Republican cuts if elected.
Yes they have learned but not what you think. They've learned that an election issue is better than doing what is right. Personally, I've had quite enough of that kind of thinking. Maybe it is time to bring Newt back.
Maybe hell. Definitely.
It was VERY smart to go for two years, because a permanent cut WOULD NOT PASS. This is a reasonable, pragmatic way of extending the cuts. If you want permanent cuts, DO YOUR JOB and vote in a permanent 60 seat majority in the Senate. The Congress did what they could with the members they have. Stop your bitching and appreciate what you got.
Bravo!
"The Democrat Presidential nominee in 2008 will have to answer the question if he/she would want to extend the Republican cuts if elected."
He/she will say the same thing they always say "extend them for everyone except the rich." Doubt that issue will gain many votes for the Republicans.
" DO YOUR JOB and vote in a permanent 60 seat majority in the Senate."
Tax laws cannot circumvent the Senate filibuster unless part of the budget, and the budget cannot go out more than 10 years. Thus tax cuts cannot be made "permanent" unless team Reid signs off on them, as a practical matter. Myself, I would dump the 15% capital gains and dividend rate that is enriching me, to do away totally with the AMT, which is just getting a minor fix in this Bill. The odd thing about hte AMT is that it soaks the upper middle class in high tax states, but not the rich.
I never liked the sound of the AMT from the get-go. What is the "qualifying" income level down to?
If the House said no to extending tax breaks to 2010, we would have had no chance.
The useless Senate would have been...well...useless.
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