WASHINGTON — Congress is set to extend more than 50 popular tax breaks that expired at the end of 2009, including money savers for homeowners, businesses and shoppers in states with no income tax, such as Washington.
Lawmakers want to raise taxes on investment fund managers to help cover the cost.
Legislation combining the tax breaks with more aid for people who have been unemployed for long stretches is expected to come up for a vote in the House next week. The bill would extend unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in many states and subsidize health insurance premiums for laid-off workers through the end of the year.
Details are still being worked out, but lawmakers also plan to expand a federal bond program that subsidizes local infrastructure projects, and to protect doctors from a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare payments.
The tax breaks would be retroactive to Jan. 1 but would again expire at the end of December. They include a property tax deduction for people who don’t itemize, lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and develop new products, and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in Washington and other states without income taxes.
Delays in extending the tax breaks have left thousands of businesses unable to plan for their tax liabilities. Delays in passing a long-term extension of emergency unemployment benefits has forced thousands of laid off workers to live month to month with no certainty of income. Unemployment benefits for many will start to run out June 2, unless Congress acts.
Congress routinely extends the tax breaks each year — the House and Senate have already passed competing versions for 2010. But lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to pay for them.
House and Senate negotiators said this week they are close to a deal that would increase taxes on investment fund managers and some multinational companies. Also on the table: Requiring lawyers, doctors and other service providers to pay Medicare taxes on income they receive through their businesses.
The overall cost of the bill will likely top $100 billion, with the unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies adding to the budget deficit.
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