Alternative Minimum Tax

[A18]

Vote

[John Dibble]

Haven't ever heard of it - what is it?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The AMT is a quasi-flat tax  (two brackets 26% and 28%) that targets people who have a lot of deductions.  It was put in place as way to keep people from dodging income tax with tax shelters.  The tax cuts  that Bush pushed through did not affect the AMT for the most part, so more people have been having to file and pay the AMT.  My mom has a good deal of income from dividends, while they are not subject to the AMT, their low tax rate trips a calculation that causes her to have fill out the AMT form to show that she doesn't owe any AMT.  I could understand that last year since the low tax rate on dividends was new last year, but you would think that the IRS would have redesigned the forms by now to avoid having to get useless forms from people like her who have a high percentage of their income from dividends.

[The Duke]

The AMT, along with the deductions that give rise to it, should be abolished.  Reduce rates so its revenue neutral.