The AMT

The Republicans in the Congress are getting set to again provide a $70 bn Tax Cut, basically for the Affluent. It is supposed to contain another exemption for Those subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax for another Year. It also means to extend the Bush Tax Cuts. Everyone knows that the AMT has to be fixed, but this Author would like to extend an Alternative Fix to the AMT.

The only thing wrong with the AMT is the level of Income in which it cuts in, and the either/or nature of how Taxes are paid. This Author thinks the level of Income where the AMT takes force should be raised, somewhere around $200,000 per year. The major difference in my Solution would be that all Taxpayers would be forced to switch to the AMT when their Income exceeded the level chosen. This is the simple statement that affluent Taxpayers have no guarantee of any Tax break. There exist Those who would claim this, so this Author will simply state it is a Case of taxing Those with Deep Pockets.

My Fix would generate a great deal of Tax revenue for the Government, would not be noticed by either the Economy, or by almost All of the 145 million Taxpayers. No One can estimate sanely the gain in Tax revenue, but it would probably exceed $100 bn, and probably be less than $300 bn per Year. The Government surely does need the added Tax revenue, because the small Government Republicans cannot seem to keep within a Budget. This Arthor is somewhat grouchy about that, as he remembers the furor aroused in the early 1960s, when a Democrat thought to raise the National Debt to $100 billion. lgl