AMT
Posted at 1:14pm on Jun. 11, 2008 Taxpayers Choice Act
By Rep. Michele Bachmann
Today, the Republican Leadership unveiled their Economic Agenda to help America’s middle-class. My bill, H.R. 3818, the Taxpayers Choice Act was the centerpiece of the agenda. With skyrocketing gas and food costs, our nation’s families are struggling to make ends meet. It’s time that Washington work to give real relief to our hard-working taxpayers and help them afford what their families need and want.
Millions of American taxpayers are dramatically affected by the burdensome Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), forcing them to send even more of their hard- earned money to Washington. I strongly believe that the AMT must be repealed and that taxpayers deserve a choice in filing their taxes. H.R. 3818 would give taxpayers the option of paying either higher tax rates with more deductions or lower tax rates with no special deductions, empowering taxpayers to choose an option that best fits their families’ needs.
The Taxpayer Choice Act (H.R. 3818), has three points:
1. Immediately, fully, and permanently repeal the current AMT;
2. Make permanent the current capital gains and dividends tax rates; and
3. Create a voluntary Simplified Tax that would give individuals the option of paying under a highly simplified income tax system or under the regular income tax as it is structured now.
It is important that Congress continue to work to see that families all across the nation get help to make ends meet. This Republican Economic Agenda is just one step to helping the struggling middle-class get back on their feet.
Posted in Alternative Minimum Tax | AMT | Congress | Minnesota | Taxpayers Choice Act — Comments (21) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:36am on Apr. 14, 2008 Rediscovering the Joys of Deficit Spending
Envisioning a Democratic Future
By blackhedd
In case you hadn’t heard, there’s an election this year, and it’s going to be an important one. Inasmuch as the Democrats are doing their level best to sabotage their chances to win the White House, it’s not a forgone conclusion that Senator McCain will not become President.
But the view from here continues to be that Democrats will either hold steady or gain on Capitol Hill. So while I think the mood of the country still strongly favors conservative policies on a range of issues, including the economy, let’s for a few moments try to discount what a Democratic-controlled future will look like.
It doesn’t take more than a touch of native intelligence to understand that if the Democratic Presidential contenders get their way, we’ll face an enormous amount of new government spending. But they’re also talking about major tax relief for lower and middle income people.
How are they going to square the circle?
Read on…
Posted in AMT | Deficits Growing | Economy | Fiscal Deficits | Fiscal Policy — Comments (24)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:15pm on Dec. 7, 2007 In Blue Dog Betrayal, Senate Passes Tax-Free AMT
Harry Reid Blames Republicans for Tax Increase Failure
By Mark I
The Senate abruptly reversed course last night and passed a one-year patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax without including any offsetting tax increases wanted by Blue Dog Democrats in the House. The bill passed overwhelmingly 88-5 with all Republicans voting for the measure. The move by the Senate represents another significant backtracking on a Democratic campaign season pledge. Democrats vowed to restore fiscal discipline to Washington by reinstituting pay-as-you-go budget rules that require all tax cuts to be “paid for” by corresponding tax increases or spending cuts.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) feebly blamed Republicans for the failure to increase taxes. "We want everyone to know we have tried every alternative possible,” said Reid. Republicans were happy to take the blame, as Sen. John Thune gloated:
They had painted themselves into a corner. That's a huge concession on their part, completely repudiating one of their core principles.
Democrats in the House, most notably in the moderate Blue Dog caucus, were not happy.
Read on…
Posted in AMT | Blue Dogs | Congress | Democrats | Harry Reid | paygo | senate | taxes — Comments (17)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:35am on Oct. 25, 2007 Are You Ready to Help Fight the Democrats’ “Mother of All Tax Hikes?
By Congressman Jeb Hensarling
This morning, as Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel and House Democrats introduce the "Mother of all tax hikes," – which will increase taxes on hard working Americans by over $1.3 trillion –Congressman Paul Ryan, Congressman Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and Congressman John Campbell (R-CA) and I (the authors of the RSC's Taxpayer Choice Act), wrote an op/ed for the New York Post on our bill that would repeal the AMT while offering taxpayers the opportunity to become part of a 21st Century tax system that is fair, simple, efficient and, above all, accountable.
Congressman Rangel is right about one thing - the current tax system screams out for reform. The problem is that he and other Democrats in the House want to reform it to help Washington instead of the American taxpayer. Contrary to Democrats’ wishes, you don’t help taxpayers by raising their taxes. The debate over repeal of the AMT is going to center around one key question – who is going to get the $841 billion that Americans will be forced to pay if it remains untouched. Democrats believe the government is entitled to it, we believe the American people deserve to keep their own money.
Republicans disagree with the premise that taxpayers must be forced to pay to repeal a bad policy. We disagree with Democrats in the House who want to pick and choose certain groups of taxpayers to be penalized for Washington’s mistake. That is why the Republican Study Committee has introduced the Taxpayer Choice Act, which will fully repeal the AMT while providing taxpayers the choice and opportunity to become part of a 21st Century tax system that is fair, simple, efficient and, above all, accountable.
This is Nancy Pelosi’s Washington – increasing funding to expand failing Washington bureaucracies on your dime. The American people don't really care how the Congressional Budget Office may choose to score the these different bills, or how the Joint Tax Committee may choose to score it. And I know that people are tired of Washington budget gimmicks. That is why we remain focused on how the American people will score it, and if their paycheck has the same purchasing power next year that it had this year and yet the tax bite is more, that is a tax increase.
Democrats will use a lot of rhetoric about their forthcoming AMT bill, one thing is clear – they will punish one group of people through a massive tax increase. No matter how you choose to look at it, robbing Peter to pay Paul is still a huge tax increase on the American people. Instead of Congress picking and choosing the winners and losers in the tax code, we’d like to let individual taxpayers decide what is best in their interests, and what is right for them. It will be interesting to see how the members of the Blue Dog Coalition will react to such a massive tax increase. It seems to me that if their bark is as big as their bite, Mr. Rangel, Speaker Pelosi and Democrat leaders might need to hire a dog catcher. Perhaps Red State readers might call up Blue Dog Coalition member offices to find out just where they stand.
Posted in AMT | Congress — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Read More »
