–Senate Minority Leader Says He Opposes ‘Massive’ Tax Hike
–Sen. McConnell: Renews Call For Extending All Bush Tax Cuts

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said
Monday that Congress should extend all of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax
cuts, dismissing President Obama’s call to extend those only for the
middle class.

In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell said that extending only
those tax cuts for middle class tax payers would cause a “massive tax
hike on the very people who will dig us out of the recession.”

McConnell claimed that Obama’s tax cut extension plan would result
in higher taxes for most small businesses–an assertion that Democrats
reject as untrue.

McConnell joined a growing list of Republican lawmakers who are
distancing themselves from the comments Sunday of House Minority Leader
John Boehner.

In an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Boehner said he
strongly prefers the permanent extension of all of the so-called Bush
tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. But Boehner said for the first time that he
might be willing to accept–reluctantly–Obama’s approach.

“If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax
reductions, I will vote for that,” Boehner said.

But Boehner later released a statement saying he still wants to
pass an extension of all Bush era tax cuts.

The congressional debate on the fate of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts
is expected to dominate Congress’s fall agenda.

Both the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have
repeatedly said that tax cuts for individuals making up to $200,000 and
couples earning up to $250,000 should be extended.

The cost of extending these tax cuts would be about $1.4 trillion
over a decade. Extending all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would cost
more than $2 trillion over a decade.

Congressional Republican leaders have supported extending all of
the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

In his press conference Friday, Obama said Congress should pass the
so-called middle class tax cuts early this fall. Putting pressure on
Republicans, the president said that Congress should not deprive tax
cuts for the vast majority of taxpayers while Democrats and Republicans
debate the merits of extending tax cuts for the more affluent.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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