Congress, Taxing The Wealthy | featured news

A last-ditch tax deal in the Senate might let the U.S. economy will escape the worst of the so-called fiscal cliff and avoid going back into recession. But even if the House goes along, the tax increases likely coming in 2013 will dent economic growth anyway. In the early hours of the new year, the Senate voted to end a long stalemate and raise taxes on upper-income households, extend long-term unemployment benefits and postpone decisions over government spending cuts, officials said. But any deal needs approval from the House.

Politico is reporting that one of its sources claims John Boehner has placed tax increases for the wealthy on the table. He has been adamant that Republicans would never agree to a tax increase for anyone. President Obama has said that there would be no agreement to end the chance of falling over the “fiscal cliff”, without increasing taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent.

President Barack Obama is lobbying business and labor groups to support his plan to avoid an impending fiscal cliff, telling the two sides he remains committed to requiring the wealthy to pay more in taxes.

The political battle over President Obama’s plan to keep student loan interest rates from skyrocketing escalated as Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic proposal to tax wealthier earners to pay for it.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a tax break for small businesses, giving voters a stark alternative to President Barack Obama's politically popular "Buffett Rule" surtax on the wealthy.

The Senate rejected consideration Monday of the “Buffett rule ,” a key election-year Democratic initiative that would impose a minimum tax rate on those making more than $1 million per year, as a philosophical debate over taxes that will define this year’s elections occurred on Capitol Hill.

Republicans are ready to ram through the House an election-year, $3.5 trillion budget that showcases their deficit-cutting plan for revamping Medicare and slicing everything from food stamps to transportation while rejecting President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on the rich....

Relishing a political victory, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that Congress "did the right thing" by extending payroll tax cuts for millions of Americans. He urged lawmakers to push forward on more measures, from assistance to struggling homeowners to increased taxes on the wealthy, saying the looming election was no excuse for inaction in Washington.

Democrats backed away from their demand for higher taxes on millionaires as part of legislation to extend Social Security tax cuts for most Americans on Wednesday as Congress struggled to clear critical year-end bills without triggering a partial government shutdown.

Senate Democrats proposed Friday tax incentives for businesses hiring veterans as well as job training for all service members leaving the military. The measure was unveiled as the next piece in President Obama's jobs bill and as a remedy to unemployment among veterans.