Angie Craig: “in light of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the mounting $319 billion deficit, Americans have increasingly called on…”

“in light of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the mounting $319 billion deficit, Americans have increasingly called on Congress to account for its spending. The reconciliation process is designed to answer these calls for fiscal responsibility by forcing lawmakers to look deeply and honestly into the federal budget and make necessary spending cuts and provide deserved tax relief. The tax reconciliation bill, currently being considered by the Senate, does many worthwhile things to this end--such as extending essential tax provisions set to expire this year like increased exemption levels for the AMT--and providing incentives to encourage charitable giving. The good effects of these provisions, however, are undercut by a fundamental inconsistency in the larger bill--namely, the bill that claims to provide tax relief actually raises taxes. Demanding more taxpayer dollars, in an effort to control federal congressional spending, is not the answer. Section 561 of the bill, the LIFO provision, not only imposes an additional $4.923 billion tax but does so selectively on the energy industry alone. The LIFO provision artificially raises taxable income solely for a subset of energy businesses, requiring them to report higher profits than those mandated under prevailing accounting rules for the sole purpose of imposing a discriminatory tax on these businesses.…”