Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  As Senate Democrats try to reach an agreement on a package that can garner the 60 votes necessary to end a filibuster, President Obama said he is "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will pass health care reform legislation "on our watch." Obama noted that while there are still disagreements that need to be resolved within the next few days, he remained confident that a bill will pass "because it's right for America."

  Following a White House meeting with fellow members of the Senate Democratic caucus on December 15, Senate Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., indicated that senators decided to drop the controversial Medicare buy-in proposal, after one of the key voters, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., said he opposed it.

  Meanwhile, Obama reaffirmed his support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Bill (HR 3590), noting that it meets all the necessary principles for making insurance available for 30 million currently uninsured Americans without increasing the federal deficit.

Senate Action

  The Senate on December 15 approved, by a 97-to-1 margin, an amendment offered by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., that would ensure no family with an adjusted gross income of less than $250,000 would face any tax increases under HR 3590. The amendment was offered in order to counter a proposal by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Ida., that would send the health care overhaul legislation back to the Finance Committee in order to allow that panel to strip out tax-related provisions. Crapo claimed the health care reform measure would lead to tax increases for middle-class families. Crapo's amendment to recommit the legislation, which required 60 votes for adoption, was defeated by a vote of 45-to-54.

  Baucus argued that the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that tax credits in the health reform bill would reduce taxes by $40 billion, or approximately $440 per individual, in 2017.

  By Jeff Carlson and Paula Cruickshank, CCH News Staff

SFC Release: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act --What American Families, Small Businesses and Workers Get Right Away