Comments on: Just A “tax Fix?”

By: Pragmatist306

Pragmatist306 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:23:44 +0000

John you’re being a little disingenuous by pretending that Democrats didn’t want to AMT to be included because they wanted to keep those taxes.

The fact is that no politician (Democrat – Republican – liberal – conservative) would dare leaving the AMT intact. It would be political suicide. Every year there has been a ‘patch’ or ‘fix’ (whatever you want to call it) because politicians in general are to wimpy to tackle to topic and fix this AMT debacle once and for all.

The AMT patch did NOT belong in the Stimulus package. It would have certainly gotten another ‘fix’ during the budget negotiations.

No need to ‘fear’ monger here John. A lot of smoke where there is no fire.

We need a serious fix for the tax code, so we don’t need an AMT.

By: gerrysh

gerrysh — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:25:47 +0000

The AMT is an abomination – ’nuff said.

By: fact based

fact based — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:13:14 +0000

am always amazed at the outrage of conservos at the amt. When the amt kicks in, most deductions are disallowed and income is taxed at a rate of around 23%, In other words its a pretty much flat tax at 23%
Yet when repubs scream about the burdens of taxation they argue that rich people at the highest at 39% of their income (which also isnt true of course), It that were the case it would seem folk would be happy at the amt rate.

By: fact based

fact based — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:23:17 +0000

“Leave aside the mischaracterization of the AMT as benefiting the upper middle class a characterization that most taxpayers earning $68,000 would find laughable ”

If 80% of american households earn under $60,000 what would YOU call households earning $68,000 ?

get out of the bubble !

By: fact based

fact based — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:18:20 +0000

” If they had their way, liberals would keep the AMT and use the revenue for government spending programs”

there you go again….

Rangel plans AMT?measure, but offsets are unidentified
By Jessica Holzer and Elana Schor
Posted: 10/18/07 07:30 PM [ET]
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) will introduce a one-year patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) next week, as well as legislation overhauling the tax code, calling the first measure a stopgap before the AMT can be repealed for good.

The two measures could be introduced together, although Rangel said he would wait to push the larger overhaul, which will include corporate tax relief in addition to AMT repeal, until 2008, barring a sudden shift in the political winds. That move effectively delays the plan he announced last month to cut taxes on 90 million households. Both bills will be revenue-neutral to comply with Democrats newly adopted pay-as-you-go budget rules when they are introduced.

The stopgap [AMT patch] will have to come first. The larger [tax] bill will pay for itself, Rangel told reporters on Wednesday.

As for the question keeping many on the Hill and K Street awake at night how he plans to pay for the one-year patch to the mushrooming AMT Rangel stayed mum.

I dont think it would make a lot of sense for me to be talking about these things, he said. Its going to be politically painful, as usual.