Did Congress Learn its Lesson?

By Rebekah Rast
The elections are over. No more ads on television, no more campaign signs and no more computerized phone calls.
A new Congress will convene in January with the heavy task of bettering the country, but for now, all is at rest in Washington, D.C., right? Wrong.

November 15th marks day one of the lame-duck session. Yes, all those members who lost their seats and who are retiring will be back, voting on big-issue items that could either further damage or begin to heal America.

One of those big-issue items is the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Rumors have been flying as to what will happen to these tax cuts in the lame-duck session, but one thing that is known is what Obama would like to see. He would like all the tax cuts extended for those who make less than $200,000 a year and married couples who file jointly and make less than $250,000 a year. On the flip side, those making more than $200,000 a year and married couples making more than $250,000 a year would see an increase in their federal income tax rates from 35 percent to 39.6 percent.

For those who think taxing the rich at a higher rate is okay because they have more money than they can spend anyway, remember that most small business owners fall into this category and small businesses employ about half of all U.S. workers. With an unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent for the past 17 months, increasing taxes on the very source that could provide more Americans with jobs is not wise.
“Letting the tax cuts expire on the wealthy nails small businesses,” says Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council).
Get full story here.