|
Monday, April 16, 2007
Tax Day 2007 Sampler: Prime Time for the AMT
As the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) threatens to reach 20 million new taxpayers next year, the issue has now reached readiness for prime time on the editorial pages of the nation's newspapers. Below is a sampler from the many editorials on the AMT that appeared on the weekend before Tax Day 2007:
The Star Ledger of New Jersey, on what will truly motivate Congress to end the AMT:
As it grows[,] Washington will lose economic influence commensurately... Instead of paying 35 percent on incomes heavily adjusted by deductions, more and more people will pay the lower AMT rate of 28 percent on just about their full income, unadjusted by deductions. Many politicians may say they like the flat tax, but few want to give up the power associated with the public's sensitivity to tax deductions. For this reason especially, Congress will fight the AMT.
The Jacksonville (NC) Daily News, as if: "In an ideal world, the AMT would simply be repealed, because cutting taxes almost always leads to increased tax revenue."
The familiar hysterical illogic of the Wall Street Journal:
Word around Washington is that Democrats may try to combine AMT relief with a measure to repeal some of the Bush tax cuts. But no one should be fooled by this class-war fakery. The AMT was itself supposed to be a soak-the-rich scheme. Like most such schemes, it's now hitting millions of the non-rich, with millions more on deck for a soaking. The same would go eventually for whatever new taxes Democrats claim would also only apply to the rich.
The Los Angeles Times, on why AMT repeal this year is probably out of the question:
One ... factor is figuring out how to offset lost AMT revenue. The government would have to make up about $1 trillion over the next 10 years if the AMT is abolished and President Bush's tax cuts are extended past 2010. Reform of the AMT probably will require raising taxes or cutting spending — maybe both — and neither option is especially attractive to politicians with an eye on the 2008 election.
The Times editorial makes another safe prediction: "This time next year, 'alternative minimum tax' will either be Google's most popular search term or a forgotten phrase... The first option is more likely," because Congress will likely conduct a major debate, without major reform, and the AMT will get more prime time play in the nation's papers and other media.
Posted by Dana Chasin
|