GOP conservatives voted yesterday to extend  the 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends until 2010.  This will add another 70 billion to the deficit.

But you’ll get a tax refund, right?  Well… actually…. according to the Tax Policy Center study (as reported by the New York Times):

The top tenth of 1 percent, whose average income is $5.3 million, would save an average of $82,415. Those in the top group would see their tax bill cut 4.8 percent, while Americans at the center of the income distribution — the middle fifth of taxpayers, who will earn an average of $36,000 this year — could expect a 0.4 percent reduction in their tax bill, or about $20.

Those who make less than $75,000 — which includes about 75 percent of all taxpayers — would save, at most, $110 each. Those making more than $1 million would save, on average, almost $42,000.

Enjoy your refund.  Maybe you can buy a tank of gas (unless you’re a millionaire, in which case you can buy another car and the gas).