There was broad agreement in Congress that lawmakers should approve a patch to stem the AMT's reach for another year. But agreeing on how to do that put House Democrats and Senate Republicans at loggerheads.
Under their pay-as-you-go philosophy, House Democrats had insisted on raising revenue to offset the $50 billion in tax relief resulting from the one-year fix. Much of the revenue would have come from closing a loophole on offshore tax havens and increasing the tax rate on income earned by hedge fund managers and venture capitalists.
But Senate Republicans blocked the Senate from taking up legislation that included tax increases, and President Bush threatened to veto any bill that raised taxes.
Just put it on the credit card. What a principled stand those Republicans made.
The Dems share blame, too, for misplacing their spine -- and after getting my hopes up, too. Alternatively, they could have sought a compromise that included a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, putting pressure on Bush and the GOP for looking unreasonable by insisting on $50 billion in tax cuts after years of tax cuts and yawning deficits, and in the face of Democratic compromise offers.
Instead, we got the worst of all worlds. Either spending cuts or a tax hike would have been more responsible than the credit-card solution.
Bleh.
AMT, politics, midtopia
4 comments:
I just LOVE seeing the Dems struggle with this one. Considering it was Democrats who passed the AMT so as to "soak the rich" by taking away the legitimate deductions that others had, but they were denied. Dems were too stupid to make it inflation proof and therefore now it's affecting the middle class and they have this huge problem on their hands. After all, they've all counted on spending that money.
Now, the Dems have made yet another unatainable promise of "pay go." Now, they are between a rock and a hard place....trying not to have a "tax increase" on their record as Majority (which would spell doomsday for them) and trying to keep a promise they made in order to get in the Majority last November.
Oh what to do? What to do???
As usual....they are planning to blame it on the Republicans.
JP5
Now, the Dems have made yet another unatainable promise of "pay go." Now, they are between a rock and a hard place....trying not to have a "tax increase" on their record as Majority (which would spell doomsday for them) and trying to keep a promise they made in order to get in the Majority last November.
Um... the Dems proposed paying for the ATM fix by raising taxes to make it revenue neutral, so I don't understand the "trying not to have a tax increase" comment. You can argue that they should have cut spending instead, but at least they were focused on the important thing -- not blowing another big hole in the deficit.
As usual....they are planning to blame it on the Republicans.
The Republicans deserve some blame, JP5. "Put it on the credit card" isn't a solution.
Who devised the AMT in the first place, Sean?
And why should the Republicans willingly jump on board to fix a huge Democrat mistake? Especially when if raising taxes will come back to bite THEM in the butt? Let the Dem Majority figure it out. AND without raising taxes.
I think it's hilarious that the Dems' trying to soak the rich has come back to bite them. Class warfare never pays.....because people pass through from one tax rate into the next as their careers grow.
JP5
Who devised the AMT in the first place, Sean?
The Democrats, 50 years ago. So?
And why should the Republicans willingly jump on board to fix a huge Democrat mistake?
Oh, I don't know -- maybe because IT'S THE RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO FOR THE COUNTRY?
Your partisanship is bewilderingly amoral sometimes.
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