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CapitolLink: GOP Bloggers Celebrate Tax Cuts

The House on Thursday passed a bill that would extend some tax cuts enacted during the tenure of President Bush, and two Republicans who helped pass those proposals blogged about it.

The legislation, H.R. 4297, encompasses tax breaks for capital gains, dividends, research and development, college expenses, and state and local sales taxes, among other areas. The vote was 234-197.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee posted a blog entry at RedState as the House debated the measure. She focused on the deduction for state and local sales taxes and the political dynamics of that issue for moderate Democrats in her home state, one of the few to benefit from that particular tax break.

"We fought to get that deduction restored in 2004, but it expires after April 2006," Blackburn wrote. "This bill extends it another year. The federal government was penalizing states that had chosen to go with a consumption tax/sales tax rather than an income tax. ... I don't believe that the feds should penalize a state for choosing a better tax system!"

Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas addressed the issue at his own blog after the vote. He credited the tax cuts with boosting economic growth and creating jobs. "To keep the economy on the right track," he argued, "it is time to extend these policies."

John Aravosis of Americablog was among the liberal bloggers who saw the vote differently. "This is just pandering, pure and simple, to special interests," he wrote. "Republican lawmakers are giving money out hand over fist to their lobbying friends."

Posted by | 10:16 PM

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