President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats are considering dropping a surtax on millionaires to pay for a payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, a move that would remove a major stumbling block to a compromise deal with Republicans.
Obama discussed the possibility of abandoning the millionaire tax, which Republicans strongly oppose, at a White House meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and fellow Democrats, a Senate Democratic leadership aide told Reuters.
If Democrats drop the plan to impose a 1.9 percent surtax on income above $1 million a year, it would clear the way for negotiations with Republicans on a deal before the payroll tax cut, which affects 160 million Americans, expires on December 31.
The tax proposal was seen by some congressional aides as the Democrats' main bargaining chip, one they might be willing to give up if Republicans abandoned an effort to speed up a decision by Obama on the environmentally unsound Keystone XL oil pipeline project between the United States and Canada.
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Showing posts with label payroll tax cuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label payroll tax cuts. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Republicans we only care for the poor and middle class if we can make the rich richer!!!
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are poised for a collision next week of their bids to extend or expand a payroll tax cut for workers.
House Republicans rallied yesterday behind a plan Boehner is preparing that would pair an extension of the current payroll tax cut with eased restrictions on some industrial emissions and expedited approval of an oil pipeline from Canada. Reid is focused on expanding cuts to the worker payroll tax and using a surtax on annual income exceeding $1 million to pay for it.
The biggest fights likely will center on a Republican demand that the bill include language that would expedite the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline in Canada. The proposed TransCanada Corp. (TRP) pipeline would carry oil from Canada to the U.S. The Obama administration has put off a decision on the pipeline until 2013. An independent study concluded that the pipeline would create no meaningful new jobs and pose an unacceptable risk to the USA’s environment as well as contributing to Canada becoming the largest GHG emitter per capita due to the extraction and processing methods used in the oil sands.
“House Republicans’ bill is a partisan joke that has no chance of passing the Senate,” the Nevada Democrat said in a press release. “Instead of playing political games, Congress should work to find common ground.”
House Republicans rallied yesterday behind a plan Boehner is preparing that would pair an extension of the current payroll tax cut with eased restrictions on some industrial emissions and expedited approval of an oil pipeline from Canada. Reid is focused on expanding cuts to the worker payroll tax and using a surtax on annual income exceeding $1 million to pay for it.
The biggest fights likely will center on a Republican demand that the bill include language that would expedite the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline in Canada. The proposed TransCanada Corp. (TRP) pipeline would carry oil from Canada to the U.S. The Obama administration has put off a decision on the pipeline until 2013. An independent study concluded that the pipeline would create no meaningful new jobs and pose an unacceptable risk to the USA’s environment as well as contributing to Canada becoming the largest GHG emitter per capita due to the extraction and processing methods used in the oil sands.
“House Republicans’ bill is a partisan joke that has no chance of passing the Senate,” the Nevada Democrat said in a press release. “Instead of playing political games, Congress should work to find common ground.”
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Republican gifts for the Xmas Holiday: No Consumer Protection, No Payroll Tax Cut and a Drive to Dump on the Environment... HO HO HO!!!
President Barack Obama said the Senate’s failure to confirm Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “makes no sense” and will leave middle-income Americas without protection from “unscrupulous” lenders.
“There is no reason why Mister Cordray should not be nominated and should not be confirmed by the Senate,” Obama said at a White House news conference, less than an hour after Republicans in the Senate blocked a motion to end debate on the nomination. He vowed to keep pushing for confirmation.
“We’re not giving up on this,” he said.
Asked whether he would consider using his authority to make a recess appointment of Cordray, bypassing the Senate, Obama said, “We’re going to look at all our options.”
The motion to end debate on the nomination failed with a vote of 53 in favor and 45 opposed. Sixty votes were needed to proceed.
Obama also pressed Congress to pass an extension of the temporary payroll tax cut before leaving for the holidays and without adding provisions that don’t directly apply.
House Republicans are proposing to add a provision to the tax legislation that would expedite approval of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is under review by the State Department. A decision has been put off until early 2013 to address environmental concerns about the route.
“There is no reason why Mister Cordray should not be nominated and should not be confirmed by the Senate,” Obama said at a White House news conference, less than an hour after Republicans in the Senate blocked a motion to end debate on the nomination. He vowed to keep pushing for confirmation.
“We’re not giving up on this,” he said.
Asked whether he would consider using his authority to make a recess appointment of Cordray, bypassing the Senate, Obama said, “We’re going to look at all our options.”
The motion to end debate on the nomination failed with a vote of 53 in favor and 45 opposed. Sixty votes were needed to proceed.
Obama also pressed Congress to pass an extension of the temporary payroll tax cut before leaving for the holidays and without adding provisions that don’t directly apply.
House Republicans are proposing to add a provision to the tax legislation that would expedite approval of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is under review by the State Department. A decision has been put off until early 2013 to address environmental concerns about the route.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
99% get up off your sofa and take back your country....put down the 6 pack and get angry!
“This country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share and when everyone plays by the same rules,” Mr. Obama said in an address that sought to tie his economic differences with Republicans into an overarching message.
Infusing his speech with the moralistic language that has emerged in the Occupy protests around the nation, Mr. Obama warned that growing income inequality meant that the United States was undermining its middle class and, “gives lie to the promise that’s at the very heart of America: that this is the place where you can make it if you try.”
“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class,” Mr. Obama told the crowd packed into the gym at Osawatomie High School.
“At stake,” he said, “is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement.”
Mr. Obama purposefully chose this hardscrabble town of 4,500 people, about 50 miles south of Kansas City, Kan., where Theodore Roosevelt once laid out the progressive platform he called “the New Nationalism” to put forth his case for a payroll tax cut and his broader arguments against the Republican economic agenda in what his aides hoped would be viewed as a defining speech.
Infusing his speech with the moralistic language that has emerged in the Occupy protests around the nation, Mr. Obama warned that growing income inequality meant that the United States was undermining its middle class and, “gives lie to the promise that’s at the very heart of America: that this is the place where you can make it if you try.”
“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class,” Mr. Obama told the crowd packed into the gym at Osawatomie High School.
“At stake,” he said, “is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement.”
Mr. Obama purposefully chose this hardscrabble town of 4,500 people, about 50 miles south of Kansas City, Kan., where Theodore Roosevelt once laid out the progressive platform he called “the New Nationalism” to put forth his case for a payroll tax cut and his broader arguments against the Republican economic agenda in what his aides hoped would be viewed as a defining speech.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
And yet another Republican move for the 1% at the expense of the 99%
Republicans particularly objected to a new tax on the wealthy to cover the $110 billion in projected lost revenues from continuing the temporary tax cut.
Following the votes, President Barack Obama said in a statement, "It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet." He urged Congress to come to a deal to extend the payroll tax cuts.
The White House, investment banks and some economists have warned in recent days that U.S. economic growth could suffer in 2012 if the tax cut for workers is allowed to expire.
After the Democratic legislation was defeated, the Senate promptly killed an alternative Republican plan. It too would have extended the tax cut for a year. But it did not embrace the Democrats' proposal to reduce the worker tax even further and to also cut an employer-paid payroll tax.
Republican ambivalence toward any extension of the payroll tax cut was evident in the Senate as a majority of the party's 47 senators voted against the Republican plan.
Following the votes, President Barack Obama said in a statement, "It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet." He urged Congress to come to a deal to extend the payroll tax cuts.
The White House, investment banks and some economists have warned in recent days that U.S. economic growth could suffer in 2012 if the tax cut for workers is allowed to expire.
After the Democratic legislation was defeated, the Senate promptly killed an alternative Republican plan. It too would have extended the tax cut for a year. But it did not embrace the Democrats' proposal to reduce the worker tax even further and to also cut an employer-paid payroll tax.
Republican ambivalence toward any extension of the payroll tax cut was evident in the Senate as a majority of the party's 47 senators voted against the Republican plan.
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