WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats this morning blocked an amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to their partisan tax hike bill that would have helped middle class families and students better cope with rising prices and diminished real wages brought on by 40-year-high inflation.
 
“My amendment made modest yet commonsense adjustments to our tax policies that would have delivered real relief to American families struggling under the pressures of inflation and recession. Democrats had an opportunity to give American families new tools to cope with rising prices brought on by their reckless spending agenda. Unfortunately, they chose not to,” Grassley said.
 
 
Grassley’s amendment included provisions from two of his recently-introduced bills, the Middle-Class Savings and Investment Act and the Family and Community Inflation Relief Act to adjust certain tax policies to account for inflation. Specifically, the amendment increases the following tax benefits:
·        Child Tax Credit
·        Dependent Care Credit
·        Education-related tax credits and deductions
·        Student loan interest deduction
 
The amendment also mitigates the erosion of savings caused by rising inflation. Specifically, the amendment:
·        Prevents taxation of the first $300 ($600 for married filers) in interest income
·        Doubles the income ceiling for the zero-rate tax bracket for long-term capital gains and dividend income.
 
The amendment also extends for one year the State and Local Tax deduction cap, which limits tax subsidies for wealthy individual in high tax states.
 
Every Democrat voted against this amendment.
 

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