Bush Tax Cuts Extension

[elpch]

Article I Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.

Would this not make the bush tax cuts extension obsolete ?

[Mr. Knowitall]

I'm not sure what you are trying to state.

The original tax cut was passed through reconciliation and had a ten year sunset. If a new tax cut bill weren't passed, the Bush era bill would have expired resulting in tax rates going up to the rate that preceded the 2000 tax bill.

[Bubba Jimmy]

The extended tax benefits were in 2001 and 2003 legislation. What I find interesting is that the cuts were passed by a wide margin back then, including Republican and Democratic support. Then, somewhere along the way they were repackaged by some politicians as "the Bush tax cuts for the rich" even though 3/4 of the tax savings went to low and moderate income people and it was bipartisan legislation. Then, when they were about to expire, suddenly the vast majority of them needed extending according to nearly all of our legislators. There was real panic at the thought that the middle-class might actually find out that it was their tax cuts all along.