SIFMA endorses Bush’s tax-cut plan

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has endorsed President George W. Bush 2009 budget proposal. Part of the provisions would make the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts passed by Congress permanent. The 2003 Bush tax cuts created 8.3 million jobs and boosted the gross domestic product, according to Richard Hunt, SIFMA’s senior managing director for government affairs. The tax cuts are set to expire in 2010. “At a time with so much economic insecurity, making these tax cuts permanent will help all Americans by providing economic security and assisting those that are struggling to save for retirement, education and home ownership,” said Mr. Hunt. “The tax rates on capital gains and dividends have clearly proven to be an important engine of economic growth and should be made permanent.” Speaking from the other side of the aisle, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, blasted Bush’s budget proposal in a statement issued yesterday saying it will create a “further explosion of debt and the undermining of our nation's economic security.”