US House Republicans say sticking to tax cut plans

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-09-14T164112Z_01_N14647530_RTRIDST_0_KATRINA-TAXES.XML

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans said on Wednesday they were still committed to extending tax cuts signed by President Bush two years ago, saying they had not abandoned the effort, despite Hurricane Katrina.

"I can assure you that the House Ways and Means Committee has not abandoned trying to extend the dividend tax cut and the capital gains tax cut. We think that is critical. We have not given up on that," Rep. Jim McCrery, a Louisiana Republican, told a news conference.

McCrery is chairman of the Social Security subcommittee of the tax-writing Ways and Means panel. He also said the panel has been working on proposals for targeted tax relief to help individuals in the Gulf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Bush signed across-the-board tax cuts into law in 2003, lowering the top rate on dividends and capital gains to 15 percent. The cuts are not set to expire until 2008, but before Katrina struck, Republican lawmakers had planned a major legislative push this fall to extend the cuts to 2010.

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Here's the insult to injury:

But House Speaker Dennis Hastert, speaking at the same news conference with McCrery, suggested Hurricane Katrina's devastation actually posed a new reason for pursuing tax relief -- as an economic stimulus.

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