The Senate passed by a 76-16 vote late Tuesday a package of tax extenders that the House approved in early December, H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said, however, that with the "stop-and-go" tax extender bill Congress "is turning in its tax homework eleven months late and expecting to earn full credit," as the package–which applies only to 2014–will last two more weeks "before families and businesses will be thrown back into the dark about what taxes they owe."
This tax bill "doesn't have the shelf life of a carton of eggs," Wyden said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., noted in a statement that the extenders "encourage our economy to create jobs and strengthen the middle class," and ensures that "students receive tax credits for the cost of their college tuition and allows teachers to claim their expenses for the personal money they invest in their classrooms."
The extenders bill also gives employers the ability to pay for their employees public transportation costs without "unfairly taxing them," Reid said, and continues the state and local sales tax deduction and Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act.
