Press Releases
Senator Roberts Applauds Senate Passage of AMT Bill Aimed at Tax Fairness;
Thousands of Kansas Taxpayers Could Be Helped
Dec 07 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) today applauded the Senate’s passage of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief bill which, if enacted, will ensure that 21 million taxpayers will not have to pay higher taxes next year as a result of the AMT. The bill which Roberts supported, H.R. 3996, was modified and passed the Senate late last night by an 88-5 vote.
“I have heard from hundreds of Kansans at town hall meetings across the state and in correspondence that the AMT is an unfair tax on middle-income taxpayers. I agree,” Senator Roberts said. “I am pleased the Senate passed this legislation with strong bipartisan support and I urge the House to pass this bill before the year’s end.”
This legislation would be a great help to Kansans. It ensures that an additional 120,000 Kansans will not have to pay AMT for 2007. These families would have paid an average of $2,000 in additional tax without this AMT relief.
This bill provides one year of AMT relief for non-refundable personal credits and increases the AMT exemption amount to $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for individuals. A previously passed House bill would have provided a one-year offset for the AMT. However, that measure would have raised $50 billion in new taxes to pay for AMT relief. The Senate bill provides AMT without raising taxes.
The Senate passed version of the bill will now be sent back to the House for consideration.
Enacted 40 years ago, the AMT was originally intended to ensure that 155 high-income earners paid federal income tax. However, because Congress has not indexed the AMT exemption amounts for inflation, the AMT is impacting middle-income taxpayers. This legislation ensures that the AMT will not reach further into the pockets of middle-income taxpayers.
Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
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“I have heard from hundreds of Kansans at town hall meetings across the state and in correspondence that the AMT is an unfair tax on middle-income taxpayers. I agree,” Senator Roberts said. “I am pleased the Senate passed this legislation with strong bipartisan support and I urge the House to pass this bill before the year’s end.”
This legislation would be a great help to Kansans. It ensures that an additional 120,000 Kansans will not have to pay AMT for 2007. These families would have paid an average of $2,000 in additional tax without this AMT relief.
This bill provides one year of AMT relief for non-refundable personal credits and increases the AMT exemption amount to $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for individuals. A previously passed House bill would have provided a one-year offset for the AMT. However, that measure would have raised $50 billion in new taxes to pay for AMT relief. The Senate bill provides AMT without raising taxes.
The Senate passed version of the bill will now be sent back to the House for consideration.
Enacted 40 years ago, the AMT was originally intended to ensure that 155 high-income earners paid federal income tax. However, because Congress has not indexed the AMT exemption amounts for inflation, the AMT is impacting middle-income taxpayers. This legislation ensures that the AMT will not reach further into the pockets of middle-income taxpayers.
Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
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