News In Brief

House passes compromise tax package

The House, on a vote of 268 to 155, passed and sent to the Senate Wednesday a compromise package of nearly $61 billion in tax increases and domestic spending cuts.

The legislation, which was expected to win Senate approval, will raise the federal liquor tax, retain the telephone tax, and cut in half the cigarette tax.

The measure amounts to the biggest single step this year toward trimming federal budget deficits.