Hoyer: Few businesses hit by expiring Bush tax cuts

The majority leader used findings by the Tax Policy Center that identified 774,000 tax filers in the top brackets that have business income being affected by the tax hike. The figure represents 2.1 percent of the 36 million tax files that report business income. The findings also match those by the Joint Committee on Taxation that discovered less than 750,000 taxpayers with business income being affected by the tax change. 

The Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and debate on the issue is expected to heat up this fall as Republicans and a handful of Democrats contend the weakening economic recovery should require lawmakers to extend all of the tax breaks. 

Democratic leaders, including Hoyer, argue their plan does little to spur the recovery and only adds to the deficit. 

“While Republicans’ deficit-busting tax plan favors millionaires over middle-class Americans, the Democrats’ proposal ensures that lower and middle-class families and 98 percent of small businesses will see continued tax cuts,” states a release from Hoyer’s office.