Tax deal would pass House with no change -Democrat

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:39am EST

WASHINGTON Dec 16 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's tax deal with congressional Republicans will pass the House of Representatives whether or not Democrats opposed to the compromise are able to amend it, a senior House Democrat predicted on Thursday.

Representative Chris Van Hollen told MSNBC an amendment to alter the deal's estate tax provision has "a decent shot" of succeeding in the House. That would force the compromise back to the Senate for reconsideration.

But Van Hollen added: "I think it's fair to say that if that fix is not made and we don't send it back to the Senate, yes, I think my best guess is that (the tax deal) passes."

The House was set to take up the issue a day after the Senate voted 81-19 to approve Obama's deal with Republicans.

Many Democrats in the House strongly oppose the Obama compromise that would extend Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels as a deal favoring the wealthy.

But analysts believe the deal that has already received overwhelming bipartisan approval in the Senate will pass the House with backing from Republicans and some Democrats.

Particularly irksome to Democrats is a provision raising the exemption threshold for the estate tax from $3.5 million in 2009 to $5 million, and cutting the estate tax rate to 35 percent from 45 percent.

Van Hollen said an amendment from Democrats opposed to those changes would keep the estate tax at 2009 levels. (Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Bonds News
Bonds
Markets
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (6)
jabberwolf wrote:
They need to take that bill and strip it down.
NO EARMARKS. No more sneaking in things for lobbyists!!

Dec 16, 2010 9:34am EST  --  Report as abuse
LandonD wrote:
It’s gonna pass. The Dems know that if they don’t pass it, they not only look like the children the GOP have been this last year, but the GOP will just pass a more conservative version after January. This bill is going to pass.

Dec 16, 2010 9:41am EST  --  Report as abuse
MidAmericanGuy wrote:
It is no suprise that the last hurray (or quack) out of the lame duck session is an attempt by Nancy Paliso and her cohorts to raise taxes. They remain stubbornly blind and fail to read the tea leaves of the last election by continuing to spit in the eye of the electorate. Their arrogance in intentionally ignoring the will of the people is vexing, but it does provide a glimmer of hope for future of the country. As long as the Democrats continue to elect radical, out-of-touch people like Pelosi and Reid to congressional leadership positions they will remain a party in decline.

Dec 16, 2010 9:52am EST  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »