Chuck Grassley: “I have addressed my colleagues many times over the past few months to advocate for the American families who will pay…”

“I have addressed my colleagues many times over the past few months to advocate for the American families who will pay the alternative minimum tax in 2007. You have all heard me say the AMT is an absolutely maddening tax that has insidiously crept into the homes of more and more families each year and that it should be repealed. The AMT was first installed by Congress in 1969. It created a two-tiered tax system, and that tax system still exists. It essentially pieced together a backup tax to ensure that the wealthiest taxpayers among us did not evade income taxes altogether through the use of tax shelters, loopholes, and deductions--albeit all legal--in the labyrinth of the Federal Tax Code. The road to tax fairness is paved with good intentions, but this one--the AMT--has created a giant-sized pothole that is going to drive middle-income taxpayers batty. Unlike the Federal income tax, the AMT is not indexed for inflation. That means more and more middle-income taxpayers are being slapped with higher tax rates and fewer exemptions, credits, and deductions as they fall under the creeping shadow of this 36-year-old stealth tax. On top of the unfair tax burden is its mind-boggling complexity. No wonder the AMT is causing major heartburn among more and more families across America, especially those who live in high-tax States and have three or four children.”