President Barack Obama has asserted that tax cuts are a priority, However, once it became clear that Senate Democrats could not come to a consensus on on preserving former President Bush’s tax cuts, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided to delay the vote until after the midterm elections in November.
The tax cuts in question were enacted in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush, and as Fox News reports, they were the most sweeping tax cuts in a generation.Without the extension of the Bush tax cuts, all taxpayers can expect significant increases in their taxes.
The debate over Bush’s tax cuts have come down to whether or not they should be extended for all or for some. While Dems believe the tax cuts should be extended solely for the middle class, those earning less than $250,000, Republicans assert that tax cuts for the wealthy could mean more jobs produced.
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The delay could pose a problem for the Internal Revenue Service and employers interested in withholding the correct amount of taxes from the paychecks of their employees, beginning in January. Withholding tables are typically made available in November, allowing employers the proper time to prepare. Sandra Salstrom, Treasury spokeswoman, assures employers, If Congress has not acted to extend the middle class tax cuts by that time, Treasury will then make an appropriate determination about how to proceed.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin explains that the decision to delay the vote was election driven, as all 435 seats in the House and 37 seats in the Senate are up for grabs.
We are so tightly wound up in this campaign that its impossible to see a bipartisan answer to the challenge we face. That’s the reality before the election, he contends.
Fox News adds, Pre-election, some Democrats are wary of supporting Obama’s plan to let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans, fearing they would be accused of supporting a tax hike. Other Democrats believe they have a winning message of fiscal responsibility while making the rich pay more after years of relative prosperity.
On the other hand, Republican Senator John Cornyn asserts that the Democrats are putting Americans at risk. They are in charge and they haven’t done anything about it. That would not be a position I would want to be in.
Some speculate that the vote may take place during the lame-duck session, set to begin on November 15, since the Dems will maintain the majority in Congress until the end of the year, no matter the outcome of the elections. Whether that would settle the debate over who gets the tax cuts, however, remains uncertain.
Reid’s spokesman Jim Manley emphasized, We will come back in November and stay in session as long as it takes to get this done.
