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McConnell Backhands Fellow Republicans Millionaire Tax Increase Bill

During a press conference Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took jabs at a fellow GOP lawmaker for introducing a bill that raises taxes on wealthy Americans to extend the payroll tax cuts.The bipartisan legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Susan Collins, R-Me., and would put higher taxes on millionaires and oil companies while renewing the two percent cut for workers. Anticipating that her fellow Republicans would continue to argue that any revenue increase would hurt small businesses, Collins highlighted the bill also extends a 2 percent cut to employers on their first $10 million of payroll.But when confronted with a bill that raises taxes that comes from his own caucus, McConnell was cutthroat in Collins' presence and made it clear the GOP would reject her plan.From TPM: What we have said, most of us, is that — well let me just speak for myself. There are — as you know from last there are differences of opinion. So I’ll speak for myself. I am not in favor of raising taxes on working people. I do favor extending the payroll tax holiday for another year in conduction with job creating proposals which we expect to be included in a final version of this that will come over from the House of Representatives, so that it provides some relief on the job-producing side as well as tax relief and if it’s coupled with unemployment insurance — something for those that are currently unemployed. I think most Republicans are very reluctant to raise taxes on anyone during this economic crisis that we find ourselves in. But there may be others who have a different point of view and if any of those people would like to comment to you obviously they can feel free to do so.Earlier this week, Democrats introduced what they called a "compromise" bill to raises taxes on millionaires, which is $85 billion less than the one proposed last week. McConnell, however, rejected that idea as well.