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House passes 550-billion-dollar tax cut bill
Washington, May 10: The US House of Representatives, handing the White House a big victory, passed an economic stimulus plan today that cuts taxes by some 550 billion dollars over 10 years.
Washington, May 10: The US House of Representatives, handing the White House a big victory, passed an economic stimulus plan today that cuts taxes by some 550 billion
dollars over 10 years.
The bill was passed by a vote of 222 to 203.
The measure still, however, faces a hurdle in the Senate, where leaders have pledged to pass a tax cut of no more than 430 billion dollars. The House version was nonetheless scaled down from Bush's original "jobs and growth" package, estimated to cost 726 billion dollars.
The House bill reduces but does not eliminate - as Bush had proposed - taxes on dividends paid to shareholders.
It also calls for reducing taxes on capital gains, a provision the White House did not press for. Under the bill, the tax on dividends would be limited at 15 per cent, compared with the current top rate of 38.6 percent. Capital gains would be taxed at the same rate as dividends, bringing down the maximum rate from the current 20 per cent.
The House plan also would accelerate certain tax cuts passed in 2001, including increases in the child tax credit and reductions in the so-called marriage penalty tax.
Bureau Report
The measure still, however, faces a hurdle in the Senate, where leaders have pledged to pass a tax cut of no more than 430 billion dollars. The House version was nonetheless scaled down from Bush's original "jobs and growth" package, estimated to cost 726 billion dollars.
The House bill reduces but does not eliminate - as Bush had proposed - taxes on dividends paid to shareholders.
It also calls for reducing taxes on capital gains, a provision the White House did not press for. Under the bill, the tax on dividends would be limited at 15 per cent, compared with the current top rate of 38.6 percent. Capital gains would be taxed at the same rate as dividends, bringing down the maximum rate from the current 20 per cent.
The House plan also would accelerate certain tax cuts passed in 2001, including increases in the child tax credit and reductions in the so-called marriage penalty tax.
Bureau Report