The six lawmakers working out the hundreds of differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget are facing a really big one right off the top – a major split over tax cuts.
The House budget cuts income taxes by 6.6 percent and drops the $250,000 small business tax deduction to $100,000. The Senate budget restores that deduction and cuts taxes by 8 percent.
Speaker Larry Householder said Senators spent hundreds of millions of dollars that the House had included as a cushion, and added some more spending, along with taking surplus funds from various state agencies.
“So, there’s a pretty considerable difference between the House version of the budget and the Senate version of the budget in regards to both spending and the taxation.”
Householder said the House made deliberate choices with its budget, and that spending on taxes, health care and education are the issues that stand out to him.
