Huge margin as Senate tax cut bill gets approved

The U.S. Senate tax cut bill has passed with no danger of being defeated. The bill extends unemployment benefits and preserves the Bush era tax cuts. The bill nevertheless has to be voted on by the House of Representatives before it goes to the desk of the President. Resource for this article – Senate tax cut bill passes by incredibly wide margin by MoneyBlogNewz.

Huge yes vote on senate tax bill

A lot of eyes have been on Washington, D.C., to view whether the Senate would pass the tax bill to extend the Bush era tax cuts. The last legislation to pass before the "lame duck Congress" starts next year is this. It is the most significant anyway. An 81 to 19 vote happened in the Senate to pass the $858 bill. This is what the brand new York Times reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hailed the tax cut bill passing as an act of great cooperation between the two parties to accomplish a substantial task on behalf of the American people. The bill had to pass within the House of Representatives before it could become law though.

The tax cut bill

The tax cuts from the Bush administration could be extended with the tax bill. The boost in taxes for the richest 2 % of earners is canceled. In 2011, the estate tax could be continued. Estates left to heirs totaling more than $5 million, or $10 million for couples, can be taxed at 35 percent. The bill adds a federal unemployment benefits extension from 26 weeks to 99 weeks for states that have an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent and above. Social Security tax cuts can be made for workers making less than $106,000 a year. That is what the bill could be doing.

House takes the bill

The House of Representatives had to pass the bill before it could become law. The Republican majority lame duck session has yet to begin although the House has a Democrat majority right now. Congressional democrats are not all thrilled with the compromises made within the bill. Luckily, the bill did pass in the House meaning in 2011, Americans won't have to worry about income taxes increasing.

Citations

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/12/16/us/politics/16cong.html