Meehan Supports Bipartisan Tax Relief for Middle Class Families

Press Release

Five million taxpayers and more than two million seniors in Pennsylvania will benefit from the bipartisan Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (PA-07) said today. 147 Democrats joined 146 Republicans in passing the bill today in the House, and President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

The bill extends the payroll tax reduction through the end of 2012, preventing an $800 average annual tax hike on approximately five million Pennsylvania taxpayers, including over 270,000 taxpayers in the 7th Congressional District,according to the latest IRS data. Three million of those in Pennsylvania have adjusted gross incomes of under $50,000. Meehan was one of the first Republicans in Congress to reach across the aisle and call for the extension, in September 2011.

"With so many out of work and many more struggling to get by, middle-class families and hardworking taxpayers deserve to know they won't be hit with a $800 tax hike this year," Meehan said. "Seniors also deserve the peace of mind of knowing that they will still be able to see their Medicare doctor."

The bill also averts a planned 27 percent cut in federal reimbursement to doctors who serve seniors on Medicare. The cut risked jeopardizing access to the doctor of their choice for 2.1 million Pennsylvania seniors.

"We can't let politics get in the way of providing relief for hardworking taxpayers and protecting seniors during these difficult economic times," Meehan added.

Meehan urged his colleagues to pass an extension of the payroll tax reduction early on. In a September 8, 2011 editorial in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Meehan wrote "unlike many in my party, I support the President's proposed payroll tax reduction to help middle-class families through these difficult days…"

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