Tax Increases Aren't Just Corning; They're Here

Here we are ... the Democrats in Congress are not even in power yet, and it looks like we're facing an increase in taxes. Eleven months ago, the Republican-controlled House and Senate tried to get a bill passed that would extend tax breaks that were expiring. These weren't a big deal for government, but they were for we-the-people who were paying the taxes. For instance, teachers have been allowed to deduct up to $250 for books and supplies they pay for out of their own pocket for classroom materials. And an estimated 4.7-million families claimed $10.7-billion in deductions for college tuition and fees. Generally, a majority of Democrats said they agreed with these items, but refused to support a reduction in the estate tax, which was part of the bill, and they were able to keep the measure from coming to a final vote. Nancy Pelosi and Company insisted the estate tax - that is, the ability of one generation of a family to pass their wealth along to the next generation of a family -is simply a gift to the rich. So, unless the lame duck session of Congress is able to get the measure through this week, these tax cuts from past Congressional actions will come back to bite we taxpayers next April when we pay our 2006 taxes.

All tax legislation, by Constitutional law, must originate in the House of Representatives, and the Democrats in the House have made it clear the past several years that they violently opposed any reduction in taxes. I am one of the conservatives who thinks the Republicans should have been more aggressive in cutting taxes and reducing of government, but I am also keenly aware the GOP was working with a very thin majority in the House and especially in the Senate. I also remember very well that the first action of the Bill Clinton Democratic administration, which at first had a majority in both the House and Senate, was to enact the largest tax increase in American history. So ... I fully expect the Democrats to pass tax increases in Congress as soon as they take over, but it never dawned on me they would be in position to raise our taxes before they got in power.

This is Gordon Sawyer, and may the wind always be at your back.