Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats scheduled a vote tomorrow on their plan to extend middle-class tax cuts and let them expire for higher-income Americans as lawmakers and the Obama administration sought a bipartisan compromise.
Democrats announced their plan for a House vote tomorrow which would force Republicans to choose whether to support extending tax cuts just for the middle class. Senate Republicans, meanwhile ratcheted up pressure for extending the cuts for all taxpayers. Republicans told Majority Leader Harry Reid they will refuse to move forward with any legislation until the Senate votes to extend the tax cuts and fund the government’s continued operation. President Barack Obama and many Democrats want to retain the lower rates for individual annual income of up to $200,000 and married couples earning as much as $250,000 a year. Under the president’s proposal, the lower rates would expire for income above those figures. Republicans support extending the tax cuts permanently for all income levels.
Obama said he’s “confident” that lawmakers will be able to reach agreement on extending the tax cuts.
The talks “got off to a good start” even if “there’s going to be some lingering politics that have to work themselves out,” he told reporters at the White House.
During the meetings, Democrats insisted on extending the tax cuts only for the middle class, and the administration pressed for resolution by the end of the year, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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