Bank Tax Nixed as Scott Brown Objects

Scott Brown still has the Democrats running scared. After the Massachusetts Republican said he wouldn't vote for a financial reform bill that contains a $19 billion bank tax, Democrats yanked the provision from the legislation Wednesday. In place of the tax, Congress will use $11 billion in funds taken from the 2008 bank bailout. The House is expected to vote for the updated bill on Wednesday while the Senate will vote later in the week. “I’ve said right from the beginning that I can’t support a bill that’s going to add a $19 billion bank tax,’’ Brown said Tuesday. “You think the banks are going to pay it? No. The individual consumers are going to pay this in the middle of a two-year recession, through higher ATM fees, credit card, bank fees.’’ Not all Republicans were pleased with the new development, calling the proposal "accounting chicanery" and "fraud on the American taxpayer." How the change will affect a very tight vote for Senate Democrats has yet to be seen. Right now it appears they have 57 of the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation.