Baucus touts bill to reduce taxes

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has introduced a bill aimed at cutting taxes for middle-class families with breaks for businesses and estate tax reform provisions.

In a Friday conference call with reporters, Baucus touted his bill as necessary to protect individuals and businesses.

“When families and businesses know what to expect form our tax system, they can plan, they can spend and they can grow,” said Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. “This bill cuts taxes and provides certainty to Montana families, workers and employers, giving them confidence to help our state prosper.”

The proposed tax cuts apply to families making up to $250,000 and individuals making up to $200,000 a year, similar to legislation passed by the House earlier this week.

That has been a major sticking point for congressional Republicans who are insisting on the extension of Bush-era tax cuts that apply to all income levels. The current tax provisions expire at the end of the year.

Baucus said his legislation differs from the bill passed by the House in that it includes additional breaks for employers, for alternative energy development, it extends unemployment through next year and it has provisions for changes in the estate tax.

“My bill addresses the need for estate tax reform and the House bill does not,” he said.

Baucus said his bill is set for a vote today, and he is “very hopeful” it will pass.

If it doesn’t, he said, “you gotta keep working, you gotta keep trying. Maybe you modify it if it doesn’t pass.”

Baucus’s bill would also extend two programs aimed at boosting solar, wind and other renewable energy.

He proposed the extension of a cash grant program for production of renewable energy. The program was created by the economic stimulus law and is set to expire at the end of this month.

Renewable energy producers have been pushing hard for the extension, calling it key to the industry’s growth and job creation. The legislation would also provide an additional $2.5 billion for the advanced manufacturing tax credit, a stimulus program for clean energy manufacturing projects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.