"Administration Pushing to Add the 'Obama Tax Cuts' to the Bush Tax Cut Negotiations"

[Clio the Leo]

Administration Pushing to Add the 'Obama Tax Cuts' to the Bush Tax Cut Negotiations
December 02, 2010 5:00 PM

Sources say there was a long staff meeting this morning in which not only the Bush tax cuts were discussed, but a whole host of other tax issues that need to be dealt with before the end of the year, ones that Geithner is pushing to be part of any larger tax agreement, ones the White House considers the “Obama tax cuts,” since so many of them are part of the president’s agenda or were started by his administration.

“It’s a whole laundry list of other issues you might describe as brush clearing,” an administration official said, listing a number of tax credits and tax cuts, many of which are set to expire, including:

The Alternative Minimum Tax;

The Making Work Pay Tax Cut – this is the “invisible payroll deduction” – the part of the stimulus bill everyone said the White House should have just written big checks for;

The American Opportunity Tax Credit (higher education tax credit);

The Earned Income Tax Credit;

Extenders for the Research & Experimentation tax credit;
Bonus depreciation (expensing) – this doesn’t expire but the White House thinks it’s good for the economy;

The HIRE Act – a tax credit for hiring people;

Build America Bonds, which changes the tax treatment for municipal and state financing, allowing them to raise money for projects; and

Energy tax credits (solar and wind energy tax credits are set to expire).

“Over two years these provisions will have nine times the economic impact as the high end Bush tax cuts,” a White House official said today.

Capitol Hill Democrats aren’t sure whether or not these other provisions will be in the final negotiated package.

One Democratic Senate aide suggested there is no way Republicans will go along will having the “Making Work Pay” tax cut, which was part of the stimulus bill, in the final package.

House Minority Leader John Boehner’s reference to today’s House vote on extending the Bush tax cut for the middle class as “chicken crap” was a poetic expression of frustration over what he considers both a purely political and perhaps even meaningless vote – if the Senate doesn’t also vote on a similar measure because the votes aren’t there to extend the Bush tax cuts to just those who earn under $200,000 a year/$250,000 for a family.

But is it meaningless? Will the Senate not take it up?

“It’s an open question – what does the Senate do now?” the administration official said. “Do they have a vote or leave it up to negotiators?

Right now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are trying to figure out what to do, Senate Democratic sources said.

Officials predicted the tax cut negotiations would be resolved by next week.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/12/administration-pushing-to-add-the-obama-tax-cuts-to-the-bush-tax-cut-negotiations.html