Midterm Election Recap

The 2010 midterm elections saw the Republicans pick-up 60-plus seats in the House, with seven races still undecided, and 6 seats in the Senate, with one race still undecided. This gives the GOP control of the House and results in more sharply divided Senate. The New York Times provides a complete overview of election results at the federal and state level. The elections also mean a change in Committee assignments for many Members and, in the case of the House, a transfer of Committee Leadership.

Since the election, there has been much speculation about how the new Congress will address tax reform which is expected to be a priority for the upcoming legislative session. However, before we can move forward Congress must address the expiring 2001 & 2003 Bush era tax cuts and the expiring Recovery Act (ARRA) tax credits during the lame duck session - or as some optimists are calling it, "the mighty duck session". Central to the debate is whether or not the the tax cuts on the top 2% of wage earners will be extended along with the middle class tax cuts and Recovery Act credits.

Shortly after the elections, President Obama came out strong against extending the cuts for the top 2% stating that "at a time when we are going to ask folks to make such difficult sacrifices, I don't see how we can afford to borrow an additional $700 billion from other countries to make all the Bush tax cuts permanent, even for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans." With families across the country struggling, NCTC is asking affiliates to advocate for permanent expansion of the Recovery Act credits and middle class tax cuts, while allowing cuts on the top 2% to expire.

Regardless of what happens over the next two months, we can expect to see only temporary extensions during the lame duck followed by efforts for more comprehensive tax reform over the next two years. A foundation for tax reform will be recommendations from the President's Bipartisan Fiscal Commission. NCTC submitted comments to the commission this fall, calling for simplification of the tax code, consolidation of vital tax credits, and increased fairness.

The issues of tax simplification and the expansion of tax credits that incentivize work can and should be bipartisan issues. Members of Congress need to understand the true impact of VITA and low- and moderate-income tax credits on their communities. Thus we are asking all NCTC affiliates to make Congressional outreach a priority this upcoming tax season. Invite your Members to your sites, build strong relationships with their district staff, and provide ongoing updates on the impact of your program.We're even updating our toolkit to make the process easier!