Rangel Tax Hike Fact of the Day #1
Every day this week, Americans for Tax Reform will release a new fact about Charlie Rangel’s trillion-dollar tax hike. Today’s fact is:
“You don’t have to raise taxes to pay for an AMT patch or for full AMT repeal.”
Charlie Rangel sure does like tax increases. In fact, his large grab bag of tax increases in H.R. 3970 is almost too much to keep up with. To pay for full AMT repeal, Rangel suggests imposing a surtax of up to 4.6% on families earning as little as $150,000 per year.
Someone should have told Rangel that several Republican Congressmen have introduced measures to fix the AMT without raising taxes.
Congressman Tom Reynolds (R-NY) has a measure that would index the AMT standard deduction not to inflation (which would lead to more people paying the AMT), but to real income growth. This would ensure that no additional households must face the AMT.
The House Republican Study Committee (RSC) has introduced H.R. 3818, the “Taxpayer Choice Act of 2007.” This bill would repeal the AMT, and implement an optional “simplified income tax” system with a top rate of only 25% (15% for capital gains and qualified dividends).
Charlie Rangel has a choice: steal out of one pocket to put money in the other, or actually make progress. He should patch the AMT by holding families harmless, and should work to repeal the AMT and replace it with a simplified income tax.