Tax tidings. Alternative minimum tax aimed at middle class

[greenman3610]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/us/16tax.html

Unless Congress takes action, one in four families with children — up from one in 22 last year — will owe up to $3,640 in additional federal income tax come next April.

Few of them realize that their taxes have increased, because Congress has not voted to raise taxes. Instead, Congress let a tax break expire. That break limited the alternative minimum tax, which takes back part of the tax cuts sponsored by President Bush.
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The expiration of the A.M.T. patch and the tax break for investment income almost balance each other out this year, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonprofit organization whose computer model of the tax system has been deemed reasonable and reliable by the Bush administration. The impact will be felt primarily among taxpayers of two different income levels.

The A.M.T. will cost Americans who earn $50,000 to $200,000 nearly $13 billion more next April. That is about how much people who earn more than $1 million will save because of the break on investment income like dividends and capital gains. Both figures were provided by the Tax Policy Center, which is a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Time to go on board and throw the proverbial tea overboard again.

Or better yet, your senator if s/he votes to make the tax cuts permanent and does get endorse a complete overhaul of the AMT which would move it rather upwards as far as income goes.

[libodem]

2. the middle class is a cash cow to the Repubs

I heard, Tony Snow, laugh his ass off on his program one evening saying that the reason taxes are disproportionate on the middle class is because there are 'so many of you'. Ha Ha Ha, we are like aphids to the ants, a commodity to milk, for their subsistence. God, forbid that money should be considered a large stockpile to bank and get interest on the principal. No, it is a trustfund for the rich to play with. They hate the idea that our tax dollars might create a basis to help the least of us have health, education and welfare. The poor, unwashed, masses. They want to make sure the, Radical Arabs, have nothing to hate us for. Bush, is trying to help, Bin Laudin, have his wish...so they won't hate us for 'our freedoms'. BTW...have any of you ever heard, Rush Limbaugh, say the WORD poor... it sound like he is holding his nose....ie... the Purrrr...he is a skank.