House heading toward election-year tax showdown

WASHINGTON – An election-year tax faceoff between Democrats and Republicans in the GOP-controlled House is heading toward a predictable outcome.

Republicans are poised to pass a bill to renew a full slate of Bush-era tax cuts for every working American. Democrats are countering with a doomed plan that would extend the tax cuts for all but the highest-earning Americans.

The dueling votes are more about political messaging three months before Election Day than a genuine attempt to resolve longstanding differences over taxes on wealthier people. The fiscal stalemate could result in higher payroll deductions for every worker.

The Bush-era tax cuts — renewed in their entirety two years ago — expire again Dec. 31.