The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax: Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance

Publication Date: June 2007

Publisher: Tax Policy Center

Author(s): Leonard E. Burman

Research Area: Banking and finance

Keywords: Tax Policy; Tax Distribution and Economic Trends; Tax Reform; Taxation of Households

Type: Report

Abstract:

The AMT threatens to grow from a footnote in the tax code to a major scourge affecting tens of millions of taxpayers every year. The practice in recent years has been to patch the AMT every year or two on a temporary basis so that not too many people are affected. The latest patch expired at the end of 2006. This testimony outlines how the AMT works, whom it affects, why it demands attention, and why financing AMT repeal or reform is important. Burman lays out a number of fiscally responsible options to fix or eliminate the AMT and discusses their effects on the distribution of tax burdens, the number of AMT taxpayers, and marginal tax rates.