Obama Threatens To Veto Congress’ Plan To Give Corporations A $400 Billion Tax Cut

To See President Biden's 5 Best Jokes At The White House Correspondents Dinner visit The Daily.

President Obama is threatening to veto a congressional plan that would give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations.

The New York Times reported,

President Obama promised Tuesday to veto an emerging package of permanent tax breaks for businesses, mustering Democratic opposition and setting back negotiators who were nearing accord on a suite of tax cuts worth $440 billion over 10 years.

“The president would veto the proposed deal because it would provide permanent tax breaks to help well-connected corporations while neglecting working families,” said Jennifer Friedman, a White House spokeswoman.

The deal, negotiated by House Republicans and aides to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, showed how much power has shifted since the Republican election victories early this month. White House officials said the package was heavily tilted toward corporations and will have deep repercussions for budget and tax negotiations far into the future.

This is a song and dance that we have all heard before. For years, Republicans moaned and groaned about the deficit. They claimed that the nation was too broke to extend unemployment benefits, programs for the needy, or even expand veterans benefits.

Now that they are about to take control of Congress, Republicans have found enough cash to blow a $440 billion hole in the deficit by pushing a tax cut bill that his heavily slanted towards corporations. In the Republican mind, the nation is too broke to help the jobless or veterans, but there is never a bad time to give corporations a tax cut.

An Obama veto would be the most significant of his presidency so far. The president is warming up his veto pen in order to stand up for working people and their families. Republicans are taking the Obama veto threat so seriously that they are trying to sweeten the tax cut pot in order to attract Democratic support.

For the next two years, President Obama will be the only person standing in the way of the Republican Party’s Koch fueled agenda. Obama is standing tall, but the full pro-corporate assault will begin in January.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association