Tax Cuts

REPUBLICANS in Congress have their budget priorities reversed: Tax cuts should come last, not first.If they're confused on this point, they should ask the clear front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination next year, Texas Gov. George W. Bush -- or the current occupant of the White House, Democrat Bill Clinton.Both of these officials spoke out Wednesday in opposition to the drive by House and Senate Republicans to enact gigantic tax cuts that would consume much of the expected budget surpluses over the next 10 years.

TO WATCH the Congress this past week trying to fashion a tax cut that will appeal to average Americans, still satisfy social and religious conservatives and at the same time please the wealthiest constituencies is like watching a bunch of roosters trying to lay an egg.The problem with all these various tax-cut packages they're bickering over comes when you do the arithmetic. Crunch them through a cheap calculator and apply them to individual or typical taxpayers and huge tax cuts that leap from a newspaper headline have a way of shrinking to a monthly tax savings equal to the price of a six-pack and a boiled potato.

When it comes to state budgets, there are good times, and then there are times like these: Maryland's treasury is bulging with excess revenue that is fast approaching $1 billion.With such bounty pouring in -- and with little talk of major tax cuts -- the scramble for money in Annapolis has intensified as advocates, legislators and others see a rare opportunity to cash in on the state's good fortune.All are hoping to persuade Gov. Parris N. Glendening to include their requests in the budget he submits to the General Assembly in January.

FOR SOME Republicans, being conservative means having the nagging suspicion that someone, somewhere, is being kind to his fellow humans.Texas Gov. George W. Bush recently noted that conservatism can share the bus with compassion. You'd have thought the pope had allowed that hellfire has some good points. The right seems to think conservatism is bogus unless it uncorks the Bollinger over corporate layoffs, fenced-off neighborhoods, income inequality and other side effects of comfy selfishness.

WASHINGTON -- Courting accusations of economic recklessness from Democrats and fiscal timidity from his Republican rivals, George W. Bush will unveil today an economic plan that includes modest reductions in tax rates, an end to estate taxes and a reduction in the "marriage penalty" levied on some two-income couples.The Republican presidential front-runner is already facing criticism from his Republican foes that his proposal is far too modest, because he has rejected the sweeping changes to the tax code that other candidates have embraced.

WASHINGTON -- After appeasing rebellious moderates in their own party, Republican leaders narrowly won House approval yesterday for a sweeping $792 billion bill that would return most of the anticipated budget surplus to taxpayers over the next 10 years.The fate of the legislation, which would grant the most far-reaching tax reductions since 1981, remains uncertain.President Clinton has called the proposed tax cuts far too big and has pledged to veto the bill.The 223-208 vote, delayed for more than a day as Republican leaders worked to secure the necessary support, was cast closely along party lines.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's pledge last weekend to veto a compromise package of tax cuts appears to have steeled the resolve of wavering Democrats to oppose the sweeping tax bill that will reach the Senate floor tomorrow, and it may have shifted the debate toward far more modest tax proposals.The White House surprised Democrats and Republicans alike Sunday when it dispatched senior advisers to issue veto threats not only for the House-passed $792 billion tax bill but also for a $500 billion proposal that has been backed by a group of Senate Democrats.

AT THE RATE they are going, Republicans in Congress soon won't have any allies left. For some reason, they continue to push ahead in their foolish quest for an $800 billion tax cut.Polls show folks much prefer spending the federal surplus on shoring up Social Security and Medicare, paying down the nation's debt and investing in education, the environment, health care and defense. Tax cuts are near the bottom of their list.President Clinton promises a veto of the Republican plan for much the same reason.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans scrambled yesterday to ensure speedy approval in the House and Senate -- perhaps as soon as today -- of their $792 billion tax plan. At the same time, President Clinton reiterated his vow to veto it.In the final version of the compromise crafted by Republican House and Senate negotiators, the timing of the income tax-rate cuts was adjusted to give the earliest breaks to those at the bottom of the income scale.Taxpayers in the lowest tax bracket -- 15 percent -- would see a cut to 14.5 percent in 2001 and to 14 percent in 2003.

WASHINGTON -- Stepping up his attack on Republican tax-cutting proposals, President Clinton said yesterday that the cost of the tax bill moving through the House would rise to "unimaginable" levels and threaten the nation's ability to deal with its most pressing long-term problems.A new estimate by the Treasury Department shows the cost of the House tax bill would "explode" from $864 billion over the first decade to $3 trillion in the 10-year period starting in 2010, Clinton said. The country could not afford that much for tax cuts while shoring up Social Security and Medicare, both of which will come under severe financial strain in the next few decades as the baby boom generation retires and life expectancies increase.

GOP's partisanship just more of the same The Republican Party's united opposition (save for the support of three moderate senators) to President Barack Obama's stimulus package was a shocking and unjust repudiation not only of this president but of our 16th president, whose 200th birthday the nation celebrated this week ("Stimulus poised for Obama's OK," Feb. 14). Rather than heed the "better angels of their nature" and act in the nation's interests by voting for a bill that, although far from perfect, will provide immediate relief for those most in need (i.e.

For the most part, Americans earning less than $200,000 a year figure to get a tax break once Congress puts the finishing touches on the stimulus package. Many workers would get a little more in their paychecks. Homebuyers are likely to get a credit worth thousands of dollars. Laid-off workers would get help with their health insurance. And parents could be in line for a bigger refund. Having passed versions of the measure in both the House and Senate, lawmakers now must work out the differences and come up with a compromise bill to send to President Barack Obama.

Despite a last-minute push by two members, the county's Senior Tax Credit Task Force will not recommend changes to the two-year-old law that provides lower property taxes to older homeowners with limited incomes. In lopsided votes at a meeting last week, the group rejected several suggestions from two members to recommend broadening the program in a final report to the County Council this month, which will also mark the expiration of the citizens committee. "We've been meeting for two years," member Donald Dunn said.

Financial crisis OBAMA - Would freeze spending for all government programs except defense, veterans affairs and entitlement benefits. Would lower tax rates on withdrawals of up to $50,000 from IRA and 401(k) accounts to 10 percent. Supported the Treasury's $700 billion rescue plan for the financial system. MCCAIN- Would give companies a $3,000 tax credit for each new full-time job created over the next two years. Would allow families to withdraw up to $10,000 from their retirement savings without penalties.

TAMPA, Fla. - Capitalizing on this year's Cinderella major league baseball team, Democrat Barack Obama kicked off a two-day swing through Florida yesterday with an appearance with players from the Tampa Bay Rays. Obama was introduced by David Price, who closed out Sunday night's victory over the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. The win propelled the team, known for its relatively small payroll, into the World Series for the first time. The candidates on the Republican ticket pressed their economic proposals in separate campaign stops, arguing that Obama wants to increase taxes.

ST. LOUIS - Sen. Barack Obama drew his largest U.S. crowd to date yesterday - an estimated 100,000 people who came to hear him speak at the Gateway Arch - as the Democratic presidential nominee campaigned in battleground Missouri just 17 days ahead of the election. His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, campaigned in two other hotly contested states - North Carolina and Virginia - where the crowds were smaller, but the rhetoric was heated. McCain used words like welfare and socialism to describe Obama's plans to raise taxes on businesses and Americans earning more than $250,000 and to redistribute that in the form of cuts and credits to 95 percent of working families.

House Democrats raised the ante on the latest potential economic stimulus plan by endorsing a one-time boost of up to $300 billion in federal spending with much of it going to roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Congress ought to invest in public works, especially transportation - but only if elected officials can somehow be restrained from larding up the measure with earmarks, tax cuts and other goodies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues have shown signs of going bullish on pork by including aid to states and extra money for food stamps and unemployment insurance.

Obama says he'd delay rescinding tax cuts WASHINGTON: Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush's tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy. Nevertheless, Obama has no plans to extend the Bush tax cuts beyond their expiration date, as Republican John McCain advocates. Instead, Obama wants to push for his promised tax cuts for the middle class, he said in a broadcast interview aired yesterday.

Excerpts I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it. ... My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain tried yesterday to relaunch his campaign with a pledge to use broad-based tax cuts to revive the ailing economy - and a string of barbs contrasting his views with Sen. Barack Obama's. "The choice in this election is stark and simple," McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, told a town hall meeting in Denver. "Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't. I will cut them where I can." Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, countered yesterday by challenging McCain and promising that he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year.