| Approved
on a vote of 64-33: |
| Senate
approves $60 billion tax cut bill |
agencies
The
U.S. Senate approved a $60 billion tax cut bill
on Friday that would impose a $5 billion tax
on big oil companies and provide new tax breaks
to help rebuild hurricane devastated regions.
The package, approved on a vote of 64-33, passed
the Senate only after provisions extending reduced
tax rates for capital gains and dividends beyond
their 2008 expiration were dropped. Democrats
and some moderate Republicans put up solid opposition
to those provisions.
The overall cost of the legislation was reduced
by a number of revenue raising measures, including
an accounting provision that would raise about
$5 billion from big oil companies by temporarily
changing the way they value oil inventories.
Another measure would eliminate a $1 billion
tax break for oil and gas exploration that was
included in energy legislation President George
W. Bush signed into law earlier this year.
But the Senate rejected attempts by some Democrats
to include a windfall profits tax on the record
earnings of big oil companies and give the proceeds
to consumers.
The Senate bill also includes about $7 billion
in tax breaks to help rebuild regions destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina and other provisions to
encourage charitable giving.
The bill extends a number of tax breaks for business,
education and savings that otherwise would expire
at the end of the year. Among them is a $30 billion
measure that would keep millions of taxpayers
from paying the alternative minimum tax next
year -- a tax originally intended for the very
wealthy.
"
If Congress does its job, taxpayers won't suffer
any tax increase," said Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican.
While the Senate bill omitted the measure to
extend the 15 percent tax rate on dividends
and capital gains, which had been backed by
the administration,
some Republicans have vowed to restore the
measure later in the process.
The lower rate on investment income was the
centerpiece of Bush's 2003 tax cut and is set
to expire at
the end of 2008. Unless Congress acts, the
tax rate on capital gains would go to 20 percent
and investors would pay regular income tax
rates
on dividends.
A competing tax bill pending in the House of
Representatives would extend the 15 percent
tax rate for capital gains and dividends through
2010.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed that
legislation earlier this week and the bill
could be taken up by the full House possibly
as early
as Friday.
The tax legislation is part of a broader effort
by congressional Republicans to continue Bush's
tax cuts while trimming federal domestic spending
to reduce deficits.
Democrats accused Republicans of putting too
much of the deficit-cutting burden on the poor
while giving generous tax breaks to the wealthy.
"
Essentially, they've targeted the most vulnerable
in our communities -- children, the aged, the
blind and disabled -- for spending cuts that
pave the way for tax cuts for the rich," said
Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the top Democrat
on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Republicans argue that the tax cuts will
help generate economic growth.
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| Madagascar
and Chicken Little: |
| Computer
animation leads Oscar list |
agencies
Computer-animated
movies like "Madagascar" and "Chicken
Little" dominated the animation style of
10 films named on Thursday for Oscar consideration,
highlighting the shift to the new form of moviemaking.
Hand-drawn Hollywood animation seemed almost
like a relic of the past as the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences put a total of at least
five computer movies on its Oscar short list,
along with two others using stop-action motion
and another two made in the Japanese hand-drawn
style of anime.
Along with comedies "Madagascar" and "Chicken
Little," the computer-generated movies making
Oscar's list of 10 eligible films included "Robots," DreamWorks' "Valiant" and
the upcoming Little Red Riding Hood spoof, "Hoodwinked."
"
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and the British-made "Wallace
and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," were
the two movies on the list that use stop-motion
animation and figurines.
Japanese-made "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Steamboy" are
the two anime films, and the final movie is India's "Gulliver's
Travel," which has yet to screen in the
United States. No details about the film were
available.
The animated feature film category was introduced
at the 2002 awards, and the contenders have
been dominated by computer-animated fare. The
last
two winners, "The Incredibles" and "Finding
Nemo," were made by Pixar Animation Studios,
which pioneered the genre. The California firm
sat out 2005, but will be back next summer with "Cars."
A committee of animation experts picks the
films that are eligible to compete for the
feature
animation Oscar.
Nominees for all Oscar categories will be
announced on January 31, with the winners
unveiled during
the 78th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood
on March 5.
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