The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was created in 1969 to ensure that 155 of the wealthiest Americans would not be able to avoid paying any federal income tax.  However, the AMT was never adjusted for inflation, and it now threatens to confront more than 20 million middle-class households with an average tax hike of nearly $3000 per year.

Every year, Congress passes a one-year “patch” to protect middle-class taxpayers from the AMT.  Unfortunately, in 2007, House Democrat Leadership delayed until the last minute, creating major headaches for taxpayers and delaying refunds.  Yesterday’s action in the House Ways and Means Committee has placed us on a path to replay last year’s debacle.  Once again, the Democrat Leadership is considering a bill that has no chance of becoming law, even though leaders in the House and Senate have already acknowledged that Congress will eventually pass an AMT fix that does not include tax increases.  We should be voting on that bill today, instead of wasting precious time on a pointless political exercise.

The Majority’s approach — pairing temporary extensions of existing tax relief with permanent tax increases — is a recipe for a complex expansion of the already too-large burden on American taxpayers.  What’s more, one of the tax increases in this AMT bill would specifically target oil producers.  It’s easy to say that oil companies should pay more in taxes, but let’s be clear: the Democrat’s bill will make record gas prices even higher.  Whether it’s prices at the pump or protection from the onerous AMT, Americans deserve real relief, not more political posturing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Politics .