The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report back in September that showed that tax breaks for wealthy Americans did not help the economy or create job growth.
The report debunked a long-held Republican talking point that cutting taxes for the wealthy somehow creates jobs for the middle class, reports the New York Times.
The report stated: "There is not conclusive evidence, however, to substantiate a clear relationship between the 65-year steady reduction in the top tax rates and economic growth. However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution."
However, the report was withdrawn because Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that Republicans were offended by words in the report such as "Bush tax cuts" and "tax cuts for the rich."
The New York Times reports:
Senate Republican aides said they protested both the tone of the report and its findings. Aides to Mr. McConnell presented a bill of particulars to the research service that included objections to the use of the term "Bush tax cuts" and the report's reference to "tax cuts for the rich," which Republicans contended was politically freighted.
Economist Jared Bernstein said the report was sound and the Republican attack "sounds to me like a complete political hit job."
President Obama has promised to allow the Bush tax cuts on the top two income tax rates to expire in January, lifting the rates from 33 and 35 percent, and from 36 percent and 39.6 percent, where they were during most of the Clinton administration, which provided far more economic growth than the Bush administration.
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