Senate Passes $60 Billion Tax Bill
After being disorganized all week, Senate Republicans passed a bill “that would extend expiring tax cuts and prevent roughly 14 million families from paying higher taxes through the alternative minimum tax.” According to the AP’s Mary Dalrymple: “Senate GOP leaders pledged that when the bill returns to the Senate for final approval, it will also extend the life of reduced tax rates for capital gains and dividends, scheduled to end when the calendar flips to 2009.”
Let’s hope that the Senate’s Republicans don’t screw this up. Keeping taxes at their current rates merely maintains the status quo but to not get this legislation passed would amount to a $60 billion tax increase.
The Senate defeated a Democratic effort to impose a temporary windfall profits tax, 50 percent on the sale of oil over $40 a barrel, on profits not reinvested in increasing domestic oil and gas supplies.
This is disengenous on the Democrats’ behalf since their environmental extremist allies will block all attempts to increase domestic and gas supplies with lawsuits. Thankfully, this tax increase wasn’t allowed to even get to conference.
Cross-posted at Let FreedomRing
November 18th, 2005 at 6:16 pm
Senate OKs $60B tax bill, raising taxes on oil companies
The Senate passed a $60 billion bill early Friday that would extend expiring tax cuts and prevent ro