House Republicans Harm Working People By Passing A $3 Million Tax Cut For Millionaires

House Republicans made it clear whose side they are on today by voting to pass a $3 million tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.

The final vote was 240-179 along mostly party lines.

Speaker of the House John Boehner tried to sell his tax cut millionaires and billionaires as a bill that helps families by righting a wrong, “Family farmers, ranchers, and small business owners work tirelessly to create jobs in our communities, put food on our tables, and – God willing – have something to pass on to their children and grandchildren. Taking away that opportunity with a massive death tax bill is simply wrong. And while the money is nothing more than a drop in the bucket to the federal government, it can prove devastating to families – forcing them to sell land, lay off workers, and even shut down entirely. The Death Tax Repeal protects families and small businesses, and makes it easier for them to grow and plan for the future. We’ve also taken another step to bring more certainty to the tax code by extending and making permanent a provision allowing families and small businesses to deduct sales tax from their tax filings, helping them keep more of what they earn. These are common-sense bills that make the tax code simpler and fairer for hardworking families and I urge the president to reconsider his opposition to these measures.”

The White House debunked Boehner’s death tax fairy tale in their threat to veto this bill, “Repealing the estate tax exclusively benefits just the wealthiest one or two estates out of every thousand—which would receive a tax cut averaging more than $3 million each—because current law already exempts more than $5 million of wealth for individuals and more than $10 million of wealth for couples from the tax. Given these large exemptions, well over 99 percent of Americans, including virtually all small businesses and family farms, do not pay any estate tax. H.R. 1105 would also shift a greater share of the tax burden onto working Americans at a time when the top one percent already holds more than 40 percent of the Nation’s wealth and wealth disparities have risen to levels not seen since the 1930s.”

Republicans have made it clear who they are standing with. The GOP isn’t supporting hard working people who are falling behind a little more each day. John Boehner showed more sympathy for the plight of a few thousand of the richest families in the country than he ever has for working class Americans.

The good news is that Senate Democrats are certain to block this bill, and if, by some off chance, the legislation would get to President Obama’s desk, he has promised to veto it. This vote demonstrated the Republican priorities in the clearest way.

John Boehner loves to claim that he works for “The People’s House,” and today’s vote demonstrated exactly who the people are that the Speaker is working for.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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