Who Deserves a Tax Break?

[Swede]

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In a rare show of old-fashioned democracy, Senate Republicans allowed Democrats a simple-majority vote on Wednesday to pass a bill extending tax cuts on income up to $250,000 a year. Republicans, knowing the measure would be killed in the House because it raises taxes on the rich, chose not to filibuster it in hopes of “exposing” a few vulnerable Democrats to a tough vote.

There was nothing tough about it, however, and Democrats at least finally put the Senate on record in favor of a sensible tax plan.

By a vote of 51 to 48, the Senate agreed to extend a tax break for the middle class while raising taxes on the rich to nearly the same level as they were in the Clinton administration. (A period of historic economic expansion, by the way.) Polls show overwhelming public support for this plan, giving even the most embattled Democratic Senate candidates a strong platform to run on.

The bill is not perfect. It taxes dividends at about half the rate proposed by President Obama, which is a benefit almost entirely for the rich, and should have raised the overly generous estate tax.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/opinion/who-deserves-a-tax-break.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss