Eliot Engel: “I rise to address H.R. 4351, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act. Mr. Speaker, the original idea behind the…”

“I rise to address H.R. 4351, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act. Mr. Speaker, the original idea behind the alternative minimum tax, AMT, was to prevent people with very high incomes from using special tax benefits to pay little or no income tax. The AMT's reach, however, has expanded beyond just the wealthy to threaten millions in the middle class. And when the AMT applies, its costs are often substantial. One reason for the AMT's expansion is that, unlike the regular income tax system, the AMT is not indexed for inflation. Another reason is that individual income tax cuts enacted since 2001 have provided higher credits and deductions and lowered tax rates, thereby leading to more taxpayers owing tax under the AMT. Last year, 4.2 million Americans were affected by the AMT. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that, if Congress does not act, 23 million taxpayers will be affected this year. That will include over 54,000 families in my district--many of whom do not have very high income, and do not receive many special tax benefits. We need to protect these Americans from the AMT.”