Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank my colleague. Last week, I discussed some unfinished business that remains for Congress and the President to address. Specifically, Congress must take up a number of tax-related matters in very short order. When I discussed this tax agenda last week, I referred to this chart. Things have not changed since then. As this chart shows, the tax extenders, which are overdue by almost one-half year, are not alone on Congress's to-do list. We need to resolve the death tax. Death tax relief expires at the end of 2012. We need to prevent the 2013 tax hikes. As I noted earlier, we have the so-called tax extenders that are right there, and we have to address the alternative minimum tax--or AMT--the second one on that list. The issue of the AMT is what I would like to address today. Thirty-one million American families will be caught by the AMT or are already caught. Yet Congress has done nothing to address the AMT. The alternative minimum tax is a stealth tax on 27 million families. Approximately, 3.9 million families paid the AMT last year, and they may not be surprised if it hits them again this year. But for the other 27 million American families set to be ensnared by the AMT, this represents a significant and stealthy tax increase. The AMT burden is, in fact, far broader than just the 31 million American families who are in its sights.…”