Grassley: Surtax is off the table

A surtax on wealthy Americans to pay for healthcare reform is “off the able,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said today.

Grassley is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and his support is seen as crucial for achieving any kind of bipartisan agreement.

But the Iowa Republican says a 5.4% surtax on millionaires, included in House legislation, is unacceptable in the Senate.

“Definitely that’s off the table,” Grassley told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

Grassley said the tax would adversely impact small businesses, which he argued were key to economic recovery.

“Small business is the engine that creates jobs in America,” Grassley said, adding that “we shouldn’t be doing anything to hurt small business.”

Grassley’s Finance Committee has yet to release a bill, which will have to be reconciled with the legislation unveiled by the Senate HELP Committee last week.