Tax-cut deal wins final OK

Dionne: Krauthammer Heart Obama
As someone who savors the ironies of life and politics, I have gotten a kick out of seeing my conservative colleague Charles Krauthammer emerge -- temporarily, no doubt -- as the Obama White House's favorite columnist. For two weeks running, he has argued how brilliant Obama's Tax Cut deal is, how he swindled Republicans in Congress, and how he has immensely strengthened his hand for the 2012 election. "Holding no high cards," Krauthammer wrote today of the president, "he nonet...

Grab bag of goodies in Obama’s tax plan
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s $858 billion tax package is a grab bag of goodies for investors, the affluent and workers, but the richer you are the more you get. Congress passed the bill after Liberal Democrats lost their bid to make it less generous to the wealthy, and Obama signed it into law Friday. There is something in the bill for virtually every Taxpayer. Low and moderate income workers see a Payroll Tax cut, and expansion of a Tax Credit for Working Families — priorit...

Grab bag of goodies in Obama’s tax plan
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s $858 billion tax package is a grab bag of goodies for investors, the affluent and workers, but the richer you are the more you get. Congress passed the bill after Liberal Democrats lost their bid to make it less generous to the wealthy, and Obama signed it into law Friday. There is something in the bill for virtually every Taxpayer. Low and moderate income workers see a Payroll Tax cut, and expansion of a Tax Credit for Working Families — priorit...

For President Obama, signing tax-cut bill makes for a good day after a bad election
A month ago President Obama was the big loser of 2010, the leader whose party had given up historic losses in the House and who was facing questions about his future. On Friday, with the stroke of his pen on a Compromise tax bill, he reminded his adversaries of the essential resilience of the occupant of the Oval Office. Whether the Compromise proves to be a fleeting moment of Bipartisanship or the beginning of a genuine turnaround in Obama's political fortunes won't be known until well into ...

Class Warfare
Dec 27, 2010, Vol. 16, No. 15 • By PETER WEHNER Get alerts when there is a new article that might interest you. Democrats are enraged at President Obama for his decision to extend George W. Bush’s Tax Cuts for all Americans, including top income earners. What explains their anger? It cannot be because of concern for the Deficit. After all, Democrats are responsible for an unprecedented two-year spending binge (the United States spent $1.3 Trillion more over the last two-year period...

Obama keeps Bush's vast tax cuts for wealthy
President Barack Obama last night signed into law a sweeping $858bn (£554bn) tax bill that ensures tax-rate cuts introduced by former President George Bush nearly a decade ago will remain in place for another two years, offering a potentially powerful fillip to the flat US economy. The passage of the law on Capitol Hill was the most dramatic evidence yet that Bipartisan Compromise has been unexpectedly resurrected in the weeks after November's Midterm Elections. The deal was largely the one s...

Obama keeps Bush's vast tax cuts for wealthy
President Barack Obama last night signed into law a sweeping $858bn (£554bn) tax bill that ensures tax-rate cuts introduced by former President George Bush nearly a decade ago will remain in place for another two years, offering a potentially powerful fillip to the flat US economy. The passage of the law on Capitol Hill was the most dramatic evidence yet that Bipartisan Compromise has been unexpectedly resurrected in the weeks after November's Midterm Elections. The deal was largely the one s...

Controversial tax measure signed
WASHINGTON — President Obama signed into law a huge, holiday-season tax measure extending cuts for most Americans on Friday, saluting a new spirit of political Compromise as Republicans applauded and liberals seethed. The benefits range from Tax Cuts for Millionaires and the Middle Class to longer-term help for the jobless. The most significant tax Legislation in nearly a decade will avert big increases that would have hit millions of people starting New Year's Day. "We are here with som...

New Jersey Senators divided over tax cut extension
On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, the United States Senate voted 81-19 overwhelmingly in favor of extending the temporary Tax Cuts put in place by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and 2003.  President Barack Obama urged the United States Congress to agree with the Tax Cuts being extended after he brokered a deal with the Republican leaders in the Senate.  However, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg did not vote in favor of the tax cut extension brokered by President Obama while ...

Obama Signs Extension of Bush Tax Cuts
From the Associated Press: President Barack Obama signed into law a huge, holiday-season tax bill extending cuts for all Americans on Friday, saluting a new spirit of political Compromise as Republicans applauded and liberals seethed. The benefits range from Tax Cuts for Millionaires and the Middle Class to longer-term help for the jobless. The most significant tax Legislation in nearly a decade will avert big increases that would have hit millions of people starting in two weeks on New Year&...

Tax Cuts for Everyone
A $858 billion tax-cut package is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature after the House passed the bill by a 277-148 vote a few seconds before midnight Thursday. The Legislation extends all of the Bush-era Income Tax cuts, which were scheduled to expire December 31, for two years. It also gives workers a one-year Payroll Tax cut and extends emergency Unemployment Benefits for 13 months. The package, which was negotiated between Obama and congressional Republicans, also extends tax...

What the Tax Deal Means to Your Wallet
The pressure is off -- at least for now. With the Bush-era Tax Cuts extended for all Americans for at least the next two years under the law signed today by President Obama, government leaders have managed to postpone some tough decisions to be made surrounding the U.S. tax code until 2012. The law has been labeled “Compromise” Legislation, and for good reason. In exchange for the tax-cuts extension, Republicans agreed to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. They als...

What the Tax Deal Means to Your Wallet
The pressure is off -- at least for now. With the Bush-era Tax Cuts extended for all Americans for at least the next two years under the law signed today by President Obama, government leaders have managed to postpone some tough decisions to be made surrounding the U.S. tax code until 2012. The law has been labeled “Compromise” Legislation, and for good reason. In exchange for the tax-cuts extension, Republicans agreed to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. They als...

Spinning the tax deal
Could the tax deal help President Obama bounce back from a self-described electoral shellacking? This Story West Wing Briefing: Spinning the tax deal Bush-era Tax Cuts extended Wonkbook: What went right and what went wrong in Congress U.S. tax policy's future: Key players in the showdown View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story Six weeks after his party took a drubbing at the polls that seemed to portend trouble for Obama in 2012, the agreement that was approved in Congr...

Obama signs massive tax-cut bill, hails compromise with Republicans
Capping a giant end-of-year victory, President Obama on Friday signed into law a bill preventing the largest Tax Increase in history by extending the bush-era Income Tax cuts across the board for another two years. At a signing ceremony with Democrats and Republicans alike, the president called the package a "victory" for the American People. "The Legislation I'm about to sign is a substantial victory for middle-class families across the country," said Mr. Obama, flanked on a stage by Vice Presi...

Obama applauds bipartisan cooperation as he signs tax cut deal
• Extends Bush-era Tax Cuts on income, capital gains and dividends for all Americans for two years. • Extends Unemployment Benefits for 13 months for the long-term unemployed. • Cuts Social Security Payroll taxes 2 percentage points for a year. • Caps the top Estate Tax rate at 35 percent for next year, after an exemption of $5 million per person. WASHINGTON • With an end-of-year deadline bearing down on them both, President Barack Obama and Senate Republican Leader...

Obama could cash in on compromised U.S. tax-cut deal
President Barack Obama (3rd-L) flanked by Vice President Joe Biden (L) and members of Congress including Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc Connell, signs the middle-class Tax Cut bill in the South Court Auditorium December 17, 2010 in Washington, DC. The measure would extend tax cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage. Sheldon Alberts, P...

Obama reaches out to black leaders, says tax-cut deal good for African Americans
As President Obama prepared to sign his $858 billion tax deal Friday, White House aides moved quickly to soothe the anger among liberal constituency groups that bitterly opposed the measure. This Story Obama reaches out to black leaders, says tax-cut deal good for African Americans House passes Tax Cut bill Document: Read the White House fact-sheet Liberals still seething over tax-cuts bill View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story An e-mail distributed to black leaders d...

President Obama signs tax deal, accompanied by GOP leader
WASHINGTON — With an end-of-year deadline bearing down on them both, President Barack Obama and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell put auld acquaintance behind them on Friday, standing before television cameras together as their sweeping Tax Cut Compromise became law. The president’s signature on the bill means the George W. Bush tax cuts will continue for two years, rather than expiring at midnight on New Year’s Eve under the old law. But whether the moment foretells a s...

Four House members from Va. voted against tax compromise
Four members of Virginia's House delegation — two Democrats and two Republicans — voted against the tax-cut Compromise late Thursday night. Voting against the package were Reps. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-3rd; J. Randy Forbes, R-4th; James P. Moran, D-8th; and Frank R. Wolf, R-10th. The seven Virginia House members voting in favor of the measure were Reps. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st; Glenn Nye, D-2nd; Tom Perriello, D-5th; Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th; Eric Cantor, R-7th; Rick Boucher, D...

What will the big new tax law mean for you?
WASHINGTON – It's the most significant new tax law in a decade, but what does it mean for you? Big savings for millions of Taxpayers, more if you have young Children or attend college, a lot more if you're wealthy. The package, signed Friday by President Barack Obama, will save Taxpayers, on average, about $3,000 next year. But many families will be able to save much more by taking advantage of Tax Breaks for being married, having children, paying for child care, going to college or inve...

Now its the Obama tax cut
Displaying a new style of compromising, President Barack Obama invited Democrats and Republicans alike to the White House on Friday for the signing of a massive tax package that frayed his relations with liberals, caused him to abandon a pledge not to extend Tax Cuts to the rich and heralded a new balance of power in the capital. The package retains Bush-era Tax Rates for all Taxpayers, offers 13 months of extended Unemployment benefits to the jobless and attempts to stimulate The Economy with a...

Obama Salutes Compromise, Signs Tax Bill
(WASHINGTON) — President Barack Obama saluted a new spirit of political Compromise Friday as he signed into law a huge tax bill extending cuts for all Americans — including benefits for the rich that he and congressional liberals had denounced — along with billions of dollars in help for the Middle Class and jobless workers. "It's a good deal for the American People; this is progress and that's what they sent us here to achieve," Obama said as a rare Bipartisan assembly of lawma...

Obama Salutes Spirit of Compromise, Signs Tax Bill
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama saluted a new spirit of political Compromise Friday as he signed into law a huge tax bill extending cuts for all Americans - including benefits for the rich that he and congressional liberals had denounced - along with billions of dollars in help for the Middle Class and jobless workers. "It's a good deal for the American People; this is progress and that's what they sent us here to achieve," Obama said as a rare Bipartisan assembly of lawmakers looked on. ...

President Obama signs tax cut deal into law
Here's video of President Obama Friday afternoon, signing his Tax Cut deal into law and hailing it as a Bipartisan victory for middle-class families: Full transcript below the fold, but here's a snippet: This Bipartisan effort was prompted by the fact that Tax Rates for every American were poised to automatically increase on January 1st. If that had come to pass, the average middle-class family would have had to pay an extra $3,000 in taxes next year. That wouldn’t have just been a blow t...