Tax Package Heads Toward High Stakes Vote in House

December 16, 2010 RSS Feed Print
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At the insistence of Republicans, the plan includes an estate tax that would allow the first $10 million of a couple's estate to pass to heirs without taxation. The balance would be subject to a 35 percent tax rate.

Many House Democrats want to impose a higher estate tax, bringing back the levels in place in 2009. They persuaded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to allow a vote on the change, arguing that the higher estate tax would affect only 6,600 of the wealthiest estates, and would save $23 billion. [See a slide show of top congressional travel destinations.]

"It doesn't create jobs, it adds to the deficit," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said of the lower estate tax. "Is that the message this Congress wants to send at a time of high deficits?"

In 2009, individuals could pass $3.5 million to their heirs, tax-free. Couples could pass $7 million, with a little tax planning, and the balance was taxed at a top rate of 45 percent.

The estate tax was allowed to expire for 2010. But under current law, it would come back in 2011 at even higher levels, with a top tax rate of 55 percent. Democrats said their plan to reinstate the 2009 tax is still more generous than current law; many Republicans said the estate tax should be done away with altogether.

"I don't like this bill, but I like even less the notion of raising taxes on average Americans," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ill., said Thursday that he won't vote for the bill because it doesn't make the tax cuts permanent.

"A two-year extension of the tax code is not going to encourage the kind of investment that's going to begin to create jobs in this economy," Pence said on NBC's "Today."

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said any changes to the bill would derail the entire package, putting millions of Americans at risk of a significant tax increase next year.

"Now it's up to our colleagues in the House, and we urge Democrat leaders to resist playing political games and making partisan changes so that American taxpayers won't be hit with a huge, job-killing tax hike on Jan. 1," McConnell said.

 

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The push to keep the tax cuts is O.K. but it doesn't help the retirees when they are "locked out" of a cost of living increase when the economy starts to heat up and the prices start to rise again! The inflation factor isn't included in the increases in gasoline and it will be $5.00 a gallon if some moronic politicians have their way. The financial strength of our nation has been our wealth of natural resources , oil being one of them! We shouldn't need a M.B.A. to see that fuel price increases cause inflation by increasing the manufacturing and distribution of ALL of our products. The diesel in the trucks to ship the products. The fuel for the planes and ships increases so then the costs are passed on to us! If you are working the cost to commute to your job goes? Up? Riiiiight!

The elite few in Washington, who have government limo's running at the curb waiting for them don't feel the pinch at the pump like you and I because WE are paying THEIR fuel bills and ours.

The saying that "We value to little, that which we achieve to readily" is what we see when we see Peosie using a bigger fuel guzzling plane, that we paid for, to commute between Washington and California! I'm surprised that California didn't outlaw the plane due to air pollution! The rules apply to us, the little people, and not to the our elite politicians as we saw in the $30,000/ year raise they gave themselves while their constituents took pay cuts, lost benefits, had to take on bigger work loads OR lost their jobs outright and are trying to drive to interviews for a job and have to fill the tank with $3.00+/gal. gas!

I noticed we don't call it "down sizing" anymore since the whole business CLOSES and heads overseas to countries that use child and forced labor forces!

The increases on fuel affects the poor in this country more than any other group and adversely affects our ability to compete as a nation on in the global market level. So when some moron politician says we need to INCREASE fuel prices you can rest assure that he flunked economics 101 OR he represents a state that has a lot of oil wells!

Lee Hansen of MI 10:01AM December 17, 2010

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