Democrats Want Vote To Extend Middle Class Tax Cuts; Boehner Calls It A Tax Hike

Democrats are considering a vote that would extend middle class tax cuts, but not deal with the cuts for the top 1%, at least not at first.  Greg Sargent has the story.

Steny Hoyer, the number two in the House Dem leadership, told Democrats at a caucus meeting this morning that they would get to vote this year on just extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, a senior Dem aide tells me, signaling support for a confrontational move towards the GOP that liberals have been pushing.

Because all brackets are not being included here, the Republicans are trying to position this as a tax hike. Michael Steel, a John Boehner spokesperson, told Sargent:

“The last thing our economy needs right now is a massive tax hike on families and small businesses — and that’s what this plan would mean.”

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch floats the same spin.

Hatch rejected another compromise idea that has been floated of extending the lower tax rates for so-called middle class Americans permanently, while only temporarily continuing the discounted rates for wealthier Americans.

“That’s a tax increase plain and simple that would be used to fund more Washington spending and would discourage private sector job growth,” he said.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.