GOP lawmaker seeks to clarify tax statement

The Bush tax cuts were extended last December until the end of next year, in a compromise that also included, among other things, a payroll tax holiday.

At the Tuesday event, Reps. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) also offered concrete revenue-raising proposals they might be able to get behind, leading to speculation that GOP lawmakers may be softening on their anti-tax stance that was front-and-center during the recent debt-ceiling debate.

For his part, Gingrey said on Wednesday that he believes policymakers should pursue the sort of tax reform included in the House GOP’s 2012 budget and endorsed by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

“We should pursue comprehensive tax reform that will close loopholes and revise the tax code to be simpler and less burdensome to promote economic growth, incentivize investment, and encourage job creators,” the Georgia lawmaker said.

Gingrey’s Virginia Beach comments were also a break from his past statements and actions.

In addition to backing the House GOP budget – which assumes that the Bush tax cuts will be extended once more at all income levels – Gingrey also voted against last year’s compromise that extended the rates until the end of 2012. Gingrey opposed the deal, a House Republican aide said, because they did not make the Bush rates permanent.

On the other side of the aisle, Obama has vowed not to allow the Bush rates to be extended again for annual family income above $250,000. Other Democrats, like Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), have floated a further compromise that would allow the rates to expire for those making north of $1 million a year.