Chuck Grassley: “Yesterday was tax return filing day for most Americans for the 2006 tax year. While filing that 2006 tax return and…”

“Yesterday was tax return filing day for most Americans for the 2006 tax year. While filing that 2006 tax return and paying tax owed for 2006 was stressful enough, for 23 million families who will be AMT taxpayers in 2007, there was added stress. That added stress is due to the fact that those 23 million families bear the uncertainty of whether there will be an AMT patch for the year 2007; in other words, for Congress to take action so the alternative minimum tax will not apply to an additional 23 million families for this year's earnings as the present law is going to do it. The big question is will Congress act soon enough so that the uncertainty of these 23 million taxpayers will not be realized. This matters for taxpayers now because the first quarter estimated tax payments are due for the 2007 tax year. Barring an extension in the 'hold harmless' provisions that made certain that people who filed on 2006 earnings did not have to pay the AMT, if we do not take action for the year we are in, AMT exemptions then will return to the pre-2001 levels.”