Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Collins again agrees: AMT needs to go U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday praised House passage of theMiddle-Class Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2004 (H.R.4227) that repeals the Alternative Minimum Tax. Collins was one of the earliest proponents of repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax. He sponsored a bill back in 2001. “Unless Congress acts now, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemptions signed into law last year will expire at the end of this year, effectively increasing taxes on millions of middle-income families and individuals in 2005,” Collins said. The bill that the House passed Wednesday ensures that the current exemption amounts will not drop at the end of this year, and that they extend through 2005. Additionally, in order to account for inßation, this plan would increase the current exemption amounts to $58,900 for married couples, up from $58,000; and $40,900 for single individuals, up from $40,250. “While the ‘regular’ tax brackets, exemptions and standard deductions are adjusted annually for inßation, the AMT brackets and exemptions are not.So, many people whose income has kept pace with inßation and grown with the economy enter the dreaded AMT zone each year,” Collins said. Collins believes the United States tax code needs to be overhauled and a good step in its overhauling is repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax because it is one of the worst problems with the current tax system. “Every year, an ever-larger number of taxpayers must recalculate their tax burden using the AMT and pay whichever is the more expensive. The AMT is unfair and should be repealed as part of the reinvention of the federal tax code,” Collins said. Collins thinks the nation’s current tax system needs reform because it is a nightmare for Americans. “Uncle Sam should stay out of people’s wallets. People should be able to keep more of what they earn. I trust people can spend their money better than the federal government.”