As the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Orrin Hatch is the Republican point man on taxes in the Senate. And he’s got a plan. It’s called the Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2013. He’s even got Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate Republicans, as a co-sponsor.
Hatch’s plan would extend all the Bush tax cuts for another year. It would keep the alternative minimum tax in check. It would direct the Senate Finance Committee to begin working on tax reform. Just about the only thing it wouldn’t do is prevent a tax hike from occurring in 2013.
That’s why you got to read all the way to the bottom of these things. Right there in the news release, second paragraph from the end, it says:
“There is no extension of the payroll tax cut in the amendment. In addition, the increased spending through the tax code from the partisan 2009 stimulus law (ARRA) is not included in the amendment.”
So the news release for the Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2013 says there are tax hikes that aren’t being prevented by the Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2013. Gotta love Congress.
MORE: Republicans want to raise taxes on the poor. Why?.