The possible Bush tax cut extension may finally receive a vote in Congress in a couple of weeks if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is able to schedule a meeting as planned. There have been talks about whether to extend the Bush tax cuts fully or in part before their expiration at the end of the year. It looks like Congress may actually have a decision made by then.
Legislation on the Table
Yesterday, Pelosi said she planned to have the House vote on legislation in early December that could help extend the tax cuts. As of now, the plan for the current legislation is to retain the lower tax rates first introduced in 2001 and 2003 by Bush.
However, the cuts would apply only to the first $250,000 of a married couple’s gross income or $200,000 of a single person’s. Also, the people who fall under these criteria would have an opportunity to receive increased tax credits.
On the Senate Side
In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is also planning to schedule votes on the same measure, along with a Republican proposal that would extend tax cuts exclusively for taxpayers with higher incomes. While Democrats in the Senate support extending tax cuts for only those who earn less than $250,000 a year, the Republicans are looking to extend to everyone.
President Barack Obama has openly favored the idea of extending only for the middle class, which falls in line with Pelosi’s legislation in the House. However, with Republicans on both sides in favor of extensions for everyone, it’s difficult to know how the votes will turn out.
There has been no word on how Congress might handle the cuts if it is not able to come to a consensus by the end of the year. Hopefully they would be willing to take on short-term extensions until a long-term decision is made.
