House Of Representatives, Tax Cuts For The Rich | featured news

While Republican leaders in the House of Representatives insist that raising tax rates on the rich is an impossibility, some Republican lawmakers now see it as inevitable to avoiding the "fiscal cliff" of severe tax hikes and spending cuts set to start January 1.

The House gives final congressional approval Thursday night to sweeping, bipartisan legislation to avoid a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes, sending the bill to President Obama for signing.

Liberals in the House have forced a vote on a different version of the estate tax provision. They also protest the terms of debate on the tax-cut bill, demanding a separate vote so they can voice opposition.

The House of Representatives, in the waning days of Democratic control, passed an extension on Thursday of Bush-era tax cuts for the lower and middle classes in a symbolic vote that would let tax cuts for the wealthiest expire.

GOP colleagues of House Minority Leader John Boehner are distancing themselves from the Ohio Republican's recent remarks that he would support President Obama's tax proposal.

The top Republican in the House said on Sunday he would support an extension of tax cuts for middle-class Americans even if tax cuts for the wealthy are allowed to expire.