WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The GOP election triumph has effectively killed plans to let tax cuts expire for U.S. couples making at least $250,000 a year, congressional staffers say.
Democratic aides told Politico the lame-duck majority is likely to concede on extending the cuts passed under President George W. Bush for everyone except those with incomes of $500,000, or possibly $1 million. The previous break point of $250,000, favored by President Barack Obama and other leading Democrats, is "dead as a dividing line," one staffer said.
A Republican majority in Congress passed tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 but included a provision that they would expire Jan. 1, 2011. The "sunset" provision allowed the Senate to pass the tax cuts with a simple majority, avoiding a potential Democratic filibuster.
During the 2010 campaign, Republicans argued in favor of extending all the tax cuts.
"A higher threshold is more inclusive and doesn't make an enemy out of households that may be slightly above $250,000, but are still firmly in the middle class," a senior Hill aide said. "It also simplifies the contrast message, by making it clear what Republicans are fighting for: a tax cut that is literally for millionaires."
