Is this the week for extenders?

By Bernie Becker, with help from Brian Faler, Politico.

THIS IS THE WEEK. RIGHT?: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but it looks like we don’t have any breakthroughs yet on the big deal to make temporary tax provisions permanent. Talks continued over the weekend, and tax writers and congressional leaders will continue to hash it out as the House and the Senate seek a year-end spending deal.

There’s a hope among some negotiators that they can wrap up the tax side of negotiations as soon as tonight. But it remains unclear whether Congress will land on the big deal, or the two-year extension of the expired tax breaks. And remember this: There’s no guarantee that lawmakers will beat their new next deadline for funding the government, Wednesday — meaning that the end game for Washington remains unclear less than two weeks before Christmas.

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