Obama pushes Capitol Hill on big economy rescue package
Tuesday, 06 January 2009, 19:04 IST   |    3 Comments
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Washington: Ahead of his inauguration, U.S. president-elect Barack Obama has launched a campaign on Capitol Hill for a massive package of tax cuts and spending proposals aimed at reviving an economy mired in recession. Obama Monday met lawmakers from both majority Democratic and minority Republican parties, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner. Obama, who takes over from Republican President George Bush Jan 20, is also planning to propose roughly $300 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses in a major speech on the economy Thursday, media reports said citing senior Democratic officials. He has not publicly put a price tag on his overall stimulus plan, though his advisers have said they expect it to fall between $675 billion and $775 billion, 40 percent of which would be in tax cuts. According to an Obama spokesman cited by CNN, several tax breaks are under serious consideration. These include: Middle-class tax cut: Obama would offer a tax cut equal to $500 a year for individuals and $1,000 for couples. The credit would work essentially as a payroll tax credit, meaning the money could be delivered fairly quickly. Companies could simply reduce the tax they withhold from employees' pay cheques. The tax credit is likely to be offered only to those below a certain income level, but the Obama team hasn't specified where the cut-off point would be. The credit also would be refundable, meaning that even tax filers without any tax liability - typically very low-income workers - would receive one. Business break for losses: Obama is considering a tax break for businesses that book losses in 2008 and 2009. The stimulus plan may extend what's called the net-operating
Source: IANS
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