Maurice Hinchey: “the hallmark of any tax system has to be fairness and justice. No system of taxation, particularly in a republic like…”

“the hallmark of any tax system has to be fairness and justice. No system of taxation, particularly in a republic like ours, can be supported if it is not fair and just. What the majority here in this House is trying to do is to perpetrate on the people of this country a system of taxation which is neither fair nor just. The best example of that in the recent bill that they have proposed is a proposal to eliminate the alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax was established back in 1986, when it was discovered that major American corporations with huge profits were paying absolutely no taxes to the Federal Government. On one occasion, for example, a major American corporation, in spite of the fact that it had $5.5 billion in profits, paid no taxes to the Federal Government whatsoever, while the average taxpayer in my State, for example, was paying $34,000 of their hard-earned money in taxes that year. Obviously if we reduce the taxes for major corporations, others are going to have to make up the difference. That difference will have to be made up by the American working people. I am going to introduce a resolution supporting the alternative minimum tax and an amendment to the bill when it comes on this floor to make sure that profitable corporations pay their share of taxes.”