Domestic Taxes

The expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy should be used to pay for the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said the nearly $700 billion saved by allowing the tax cuts to expire for the nation’s wealthiest Americans could help pay for the nation’s long-term obligation for the wars. 

Neal also said that a Senate bill that includes only funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and disaster aid could have trouble getting through the House. 

He said it would be “difficult” for the House to take up the Senate’s streamlined bill and “ask for an up-or-down vote on it.”

The Senate Finance Committee is entertaining the idea of marking up legislation before the August break that would extend the middle-class tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. The bill might also be used to extend other measures. 

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House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) is unlikely to mark up a green energy jobs bill before the August recess, sources told The Hill. 

Democrats on the tax-writing committee are apparently apprehensive about moving forward on a bill that increases taxes right before they leave town to campaign for reelection.

Levin is expected to release an official draft of the legislation before leaving town. 

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday called for “intellectual consistency” when responding to a July 14 Washington Post editorial that argued extending the top two rates of the Bush tax cuts should be paid for while the extension of middle-class tax breaks should not be offset. 

The prospect of Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich) hosting a markup on energy legislation this week appeared to be in doubt on Monday as he told reporters that there were still a few kinks in the bill that needed to be worked out. 

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Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine on Monday blasted Republican campaign committee Chairmen Pete Sessions and John Cornyn, both from Texas, who on Sunday defended the policies of President George W. Bush. 

Under Bush, Congress passed a $1.3 trillion tax bill that was not offset, which some contend contributed mightily to the current deficit.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) on Monday called on House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) to add to his green energy jobs bill provisions that promote energy efficiency in commercial buildings.

Republicans over the weekend continued to blast the Democratic plan for allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire at a time of economic uncertainty.

They argued small businesses will also be hit by the tax increase, prohibiting them from hiring.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), a junior member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has introduced legislation creating a progressive estate tax that is not only paid for, but would also deduce the debt by at least $264 billion over the next ten years. 

Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) have introduced legislation that repeals the new healthcare mandate requiring small businesses and charities to submit 1099 reporting forms to the IRS for purchases over $600.