WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress agreed to renew $38 billion in tax breaks before adjourning Saturday morning.
By a 367-45 vote, the House extended for two years nearly two dozen tax breaks, most of which expired in December 2005, The Washington Post reported.
Included was a tax credit for research and development critical to many high-tech businesses, a reward for employers that hire former welfare recipients and a deduction for state and local sales taxes paid by people in states without income taxes.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said if Congress left town without renewing expired or expiring tax breaks, 19 million taxpayers would face tax increases.
The tax package would also let taxpayers shelter an unlimited amount of money in health savings accounts, as long as they chose certain insurance plans with high deductibles. And it would stave off a scheduled 5.1 percent cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare payments.
