Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on Senate passage of legislation to extend expired tax provisions. The provisions include a series of provisions for individuals, such as the college tuition deduction and deduction for teachers who buy classroom supplies out of their own pocket, which Grassley advanced as Finance Committee chairman, and provisions of interest to employers such as equipment expensing provisions for farmers and business owners and a tax credit for the production of electricity from wind energy. Grassley is the author of the original wind energy tax credit and has advanced it several times. Grassley voted for the bill, which now heads to the President for his consideration.
“Among the last votes of the Senate’s lame duck session was on tax extenders. Under the current leadership, the Senate has assigned this piece of business one of the lowest priorities. The message from the Democratic leadership is that certainty for individuals who look forward to these provisions or people who create and maintain jobs is a low priority. This is a bad message in any economy and especially in one that could be much better. House and Senate negotiators were closing in on an agreement that would have provided a two-year extension for most provisions and would have been good for wind energy production, with a multi-year extension. But the President threatened a veto before the ink on the agreement was even written, much less dry. The President was set to get a lot of what he wanted in that deal, but he wanted more. Now we’re left with a weak tax package. I hope for better next year, when the Senate is under new leadership.”
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