John Hall: “if nothing is done soon, 27 million families across the country will be obligated to pay the alternative minimum tax…”

“if nothing is done soon, 27 million families across the country will be obligated to pay the alternative minimum tax, the AMT. Over 100,000 of these middle-class families live in New York's 19th District. They will have to go through the tedious process of computing their tax returns twice, and they will end up having to pay thousands more than they otherwise would. The AMT is an unfair tax which in 1970, when it first took effect, only affected 155 households in the entire country. The people who pay it lose the opportunity to take many of the deductions and exemptions that make the tax code friendlier to families. Under the AMT, it doesn't matter what money is spent on health care, on property tax or on education; everyone pays the same amount of tax regardless. Tomorrow, we will consider legislation to allow almost 73,000 of my constituents to escape the AMT. Today, millions of middle-class families are in danger of being ensnared by a tax that was never intended to affect them.”