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Reid: No waiving pay-go for $50B one-year AMT fix |
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By Jessica Holzer
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Posted: 11/02/07 07:46 PM [ET] |
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he supports complying with congressional budget rules to pass a one-year patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), though it remains unclear how the upper chamber will offset the $50 billion price tag.
“I’m not in favor of waiving pay-go rules. I think we cannot waver on that,” he told reporters.
Some Senate Democrats and Republicans in recent weeks have said pay-go should be waived for AMT legislation. However, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and others have opposed the idea.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation on Thursday that could complicate the swift passage of an AMT patch in the Senate.
By a 22-13 vote, panel members passed a $70 billion tax package sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), the panel’s chairman, that would both shield 23 million taxpayers from the AMT and extend a package of popular tax breaks for one year. Rangel attached tax increases to the legislation to fully offset its cost, including a controversial proposal to raise taxes on the so-called carried interest earned by fund managers in the private equity and hedge fund industries. It would also hit the venture capital and real estate sectors.
Manu Raju contributed to this report. |
