AMT fix jinxed by Republicans in Congress
Congressional Republicans and President Bush refused to offset the cost of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) fix by imposing new taxes, particularly on wealthy hedge fund managers some of whom make in excess of 1 billion per year and who have been sheltered by a tax code quirk which allows them to receive a 20% tax break not available to other citizens.
By not offsetting the cost of the AMT fix, the national debt will increase by $50 billion. Full Story.
2 comments
I certainly do not agree with Bush’s approach, but the Alternative Minimum Tax was a disaster from its inception. It would be much better to fix the tax code rather than punishing people for using its provisions. The fact that the tax code is a lame attempt at social engineering by self-serving politicians is yet another subject.
Unfortunately business decision are made with an eye on the tax code. Many of those decisions don’t make sense. Each year, the tax code expands to accommodate new special interests. Who would have guessed that Hedge Fund managers would have a quirk in the code that allowed them a special tax rate on their billion dollar yearly income resulting in a rate of 15% rather than 35% for all other high paying individuals.
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