Boehner: Extend small business tax cuts

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives minority leader said Thursday the Bush tax cuts due to end this year should be extended to avoid stunting job growth.

Rep. John Boehner's comment came in response to Vice President Joe Biden's statement that Republicans' arguments for extending the tax cuts are "a bunch of malarkey," The Hill reported.

"With all due respect to the vice president, Americans know we won't solve the deficit until we cut spending and have real economic growth, and we won't have real economic growth if we raise taxes on small businesses. As a former small-business owner myself, I can tell you that's going to destroy more jobs and make it harder to balance the budget, not easier," Boehner, R-Ohio, said.

"To get our economy moving again, we need to rein in government spending, stop the tax hike, and end the uncertainty for our nation's small businesses so they can get back to creating jobs."

The White House said the cuts should be extended for those not in the top income brackets: families making less than $250,000 per year and individuals making less than $200,000 annually.

Republicans and some centrist Democrats said they want all the cuts extended, maintaining that eliminating tax breaks in the middle of a struggling economic recovery would harm job growth.

Biden said Thursday continuing all the tax breaks would be fiscally irresponsible, adding the "super rich" don't need the tax break.

"They (the "super rich") already have disposable income. They're spending all they're going to spend anyway," Biden said.