As reported here yesterday, House Ways and Means chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) has agreed to offer a tax package counter-proposal to the Senate's $8.3 billion, ten-year package, approved last week as part of S. 2, the Senate minimum wage bill. Rangel is collaborating with Committee ranking member James McCreary (R-LA) to craft a package that will clear the Committee and the House quickly. Reports are that they will put a $1-1.5 billion proposal before the Committee for mark-up on Monday, but the elements of the package are still under discussion. Options under consideration are slowly emerging. "A main feature of the Ways and Means proposal is expected to be a tax credit for businesses that hire disadvantaged workers, including wounded veterans and the poor," AP is reporting this morning. Speculation is that Rangel hopes to pay for an extension of this Work Opportunity tax credit with tax gap offsets, while McCreary is focused on Section 179 small business expensing extensions. Small business and corporate groups, meanwhile, are at odds regarding which offsets in the Senate package to make sure are omitted in the House proposal.