Question: To those who think the Cliff is the best solution...

[hfojvt]

17. about the AMT, here's what CTJ says

http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/2012/11/despite_what_youve_heard_the_a.php

"If Congress departs from its annual tradition of steeply reducing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), 57 percent of the tax will be paid by the richest five percent of Americans and 91 percent of the tax will be paid by the richest fifth of Americans. If Congress does reduce the AMT as usual, almost all of the tax will be paid by the richest five percent of Americans.

The AMT is one of the factors contributing to the hysteria in Washington about the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the point at which several tax cuts expire and several spending cuts go into effect at the end of this year. Lawmakers and observers often mistakenly portray the AMT as a tax that will affect middle-income Americans if it is not controlled."



In other words, most of the people who benefit from the much-ballyhooed AMT patch - they are fairly well off compared to the rest of us.

91% of those paying the AMT, even without the patch, are in the top 20%.

That means they make more money than 80% of the rest of us. They're kinda rich.