Friday, August 26, 2011

A tax cut Republicans don't like (Hint: It's not for the rich)

WASHINGTON — It is hard to find a tax cut that Congressional Republicans dislike. Unless it is a tax cut pushed by President Obama.

In a turning of the tax policy tables, Democrats are increasingly hammering on Republicans who oppose the president’s proposal to extend for a year a payroll tax cut passed last year with bipartisan support.

That tax cut — which reduces workers’ contributions to Social Security this year to 4.2 percent of wages, from 6.2 percent — expires in December. The White House would like to extend it for another year. But Republicans in Congress are balking, arguing that such a cut adds needlessly to the nation’s budget deficit, and should be replaced with an overhaul of tax policy instead.

“All tax relief is not created equal,” said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader. “If the goal is job creation, Leader Cantor has long believed that there are better ways to grow the economy and create jobs than temporary payroll tax relief.”
Read the rest here.

2 comments:

mjl said...

Well, the Republicans are at least represented in their hypocrisy (I say this as a registered GOP member in my home state). Pretty ridiculous.

Visibilium said...

The hard fact remains that lowering taxes best spurs economic growth at the highest marginal rates, not at Joe Sixpack's rates. On this issue, the Republicans aren't being hypocrites, but are prioritizing tax cuts. There'll be plenty of time to cut payroll taxes when unemployment falls meaningfully.