President Obama Makes His Demands Known On Tax Plan
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on December 5, 2010
It sounds like we have everybody’s attention here, doesn’t it!
President Barack Obama said any new legislation must extend federal jobless aid and include his own soon-to-expire tax policies.
Obama told Democratic leaders in Congress he’d reject even a temporary extension of the Bush-era tax cuts if the legislation doesn’t encompass his own policies, which include the “Making Work Pay†tax credit that adds up to $800 per year in a married couple’s paycheck, an administration official said. Obama also wants more generous credits for the working poor, college students and adoptive parents enacted in 2009 to be renewed.
The ultimatum changes the stakes as negotiators race the calendar before the tax cuts lapse at the end on this year. Obama’s demands also would add about $150 billion in cost to the bill, all of which would have to be financed by deficits. Allowing his own tax cuts to expire, Obama told lawmakers, would result in a tax increase on 95 percent of Americans, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Obama made his demand after the U.S. Congress failed to advance legislation that would renew the Bush-era policies only for American individuals who earn less than $200,000 and couples who make under $250,000, thresholds Obama set as a campaign promise. The Senate yesterday rejected legislation with that cap as well as another measure with a $1 million threshold.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said it’s “pretty clear†Bush-era tax cuts will be extended and that he’s “optimistic†that Congress will strike a deal to extend existing tax breaks before the end of the year.
“We’ve had more conversations in the last two weeks than the last two years,†he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press†today. “I think we’re going to get there.â€
McConnell said he expects Congress to extend existing tax rates on income, capital gains and dividends for all Americans, including a temporary extension for high-income taxpayers. He also said he expects that unemployment benefits will be extended.
“This is a nonstarter†unless unemployment benefits are extended, Democratic Senate Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said on CBS’s “Face the Nation†program. He said it would be “unconscionable†to “turn our backs on two million Americans who will lose unemployment benefits before Christmas.â€
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