When is a tax cut really a tax hike?

[Joanne98]

By Greg Sargent
With House Dems set to hold a high-stakes vote tomorrow on extending just the middle class tax cuts, Republicans are fanning out to denounce the move as a tax hike. The idea is that a plan to extend just the low end tax cuts would mean that the high end ones would expire at the end of the year. Presto: Tomorrow's vote is a vote for a tax hike.

But Dems have their pushback at the ready: They will point out that some House Republicans themselves said a few months ago that they would vote to extend just the middle class tax cuts, if given just that option.

For instance: Today, House GOP Rep. Dave Camp, one of the top GOP negotiators in the standoff over the Bush tax cuts, denounced the Dem plan for a vote today as a "push to raise taxes."

But back in July, when another such vote was being mulled by Dems, Camp said he might support it:


Camp said it would be difficult to block a bill extending middle class tax cuts, even if it doesn't stop tax rates from increasing for high earners.


"I'll probably vote for it myself," Camp said.


Similarly, John Boehner also said back in September he would support an extension of just the middle class tax cuts if that were his only option, before reversing himself.

With Republicans certain to widely denounce tomorrow's vote as a tax hike on small businesses, expect Dems to point to these previous GOP quotes to argue that even Republicans have acknowledged that a vote to extend middle class tax cuts is, well, just a vote to extend middle class tax cuts.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/dems_push_back.html

[Clio the Leo]

1. very nice nt

[bergie321]

2. A better question

When is a tax increase set in motion by 2 bills that were passed through reconciliation because Republicans could not get enough votes, a "Democratic tax increase"?