Brian Beutler | November 16, 2010, 1:25PM
Republicans from across the conservative spectrum are swatting down a proposal from Democrat Chuck Schumer to resolve the tax cut dispute by ending tax cuts to millionaires only.
"The answer is no," said Sen. John Thune (R-SC) -- the fourth ranking Republican in the Senate -- on Fox News last night. "What you want to do if you believe the best ways to grow jobs and to grow the economy in this country is to keep taxes low and to allow small businesses...to get out and do that, then the worst thing you can do is raise taxes on them, which, if you raise them on those higher-income levels is what happens.
Thune is a contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, and his position is reflective of the fact that he'll be guarding his right flank for the next many months.
"On the question of the wealthy, it has to get back to economic activity and economic growth and who, as well, pays those taxes, and that is, of course, small business owners, the preponderance of whom file individual tax returns," she told reporters today. "So it does effect them."
Now, Snowe is up for re-election in 2012, and a great deal of speculation has centered on the possibility that she'll face a primary challenge from the right. But she also signaled an openness to work with Democrats on a compromise that most Republicans are rejecting.
In any case, if it was Schumer's goal to get Republicans on the record defending tax breaks for millionaires, he got his way.
Watch Thune on video below:
Key Republican: No permanent tax cut extension to come during lame-duck
- 11/16/10 08:16 AM ET
The incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee said Tuesday that a permanent extension of the expiring Bush-era tax cuts is highly unlikely to happen during the lame-duck session of Congress.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said that some sort of compromise is in order, such as a temporary extension of one or two years.
"They control this in the lame duck. It's much better if you do this in the lame duck. If you go after the first of the year, after tax laws and tax forms have been changed and printed, it's really ugly. It's bad for the economy. It's bad for jobs," Ryan told MSNBC. "Get it done now. I understand it's not going to be permanent like we would like it. But get it done in the lame duck. It's better for the entire economy."
The lawmaker's comments could be a sign that a compromise between Democrats and Republicans in Congress is close. The debate over what to do with the tax cuts, which will expire on Jan. 1, is expected to dominate the lame-duck session that began Monday.
Leaders in both political parties have failed to budge on the issue: Most Republican leaders have demanded a permanent extension of all the tax cuts for both high income earners and the middle-class.
Top Democrats have sought an extension for the middle-class cuts but want to allow the breaks for individuals earning over $200,000 and families making over $250,000 to end.
But White House senior adviser David Axelrod last week signaled that wiggle-room exists when he suggested that Obama could be open to a temporary extension of all the cuts.
A number of compromise options have been put on the table, such as "de-coupling" the cuts to permanently extend the middle-class provisions while temporarily renewing them for the wealthy.
Other options include a temporary extension of all the cuts and raising the amount of income that would put an individual or family in the upper income bracket, then letting those cuts expire.
Ryan said a temporary extension of all the cuts is most likely.
"Well, obviously the president's not going to accept permanents," Ryan said. "I think he will accept not decoupling the tax cuts, meaning some permanent, some temporary. So I think all of them will be moving forward temporary."
This post was updated at 11:25 a.m.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said that some sort of compromise is in order, such as a temporary extension of one or two years.
"They control this in the lame duck. It's much better if you do this in the lame duck. If you go after the first of the year, after tax laws and tax forms have been changed and printed, it's really ugly. It's bad for the economy. It's bad for jobs," Ryan told MSNBC. "Get it done now. I understand it's not going to be permanent like we would like it. But get it done in the lame duck. It's better for the entire economy."
The lawmaker's comments could be a sign that a compromise between Democrats and Republicans in Congress is close. The debate over what to do with the tax cuts, which will expire on Jan. 1, is expected to dominate the lame-duck session that began Monday.
Leaders in both political parties have failed to budge on the issue: Most Republican leaders have demanded a permanent extension of all the tax cuts for both high income earners and the middle-class.
Top Democrats have sought an extension for the middle-class cuts but want to allow the breaks for individuals earning over $200,000 and families making over $250,000 to end.
But White House senior adviser David Axelrod last week signaled that wiggle-room exists when he suggested that Obama could be open to a temporary extension of all the cuts.
A number of compromise options have been put on the table, such as "de-coupling" the cuts to permanently extend the middle-class provisions while temporarily renewing them for the wealthy.
Other options include a temporary extension of all the cuts and raising the amount of income that would put an individual or family in the upper income bracket, then letting those cuts expire.
Ryan said a temporary extension of all the cuts is most likely.
"Well, obviously the president's not going to accept permanents," Ryan said. "I think he will accept not decoupling the tax cuts, meaning some permanent, some temporary. So I think all of them will be moving forward temporary."
This post was updated at 11:25 a.m.
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