Alt Min Fix for non-rich is needed- but GOP is selling Alt Min Tax problem

[papau]

Anything that reduces your tax can be considered something to reverse and not allow to have an effect in the Alternative calculation - because you are already getting the benefit of a lower, less "progressive" rate - and you know how important it is for the rich to get to a "flate rate" income tax - a flate rate like we have for the first $90,000 of income under the income tax called the "payroll tax".

So things like Exemptions for yourself, your spouse and your dependents and whatever, and the Standard Deduction, and for those that itemize State and Local Taxes, and Interest on Second Mortgages if it was not taken out to improve the home, and the limited Medical Expenses deduction is even more limited, and Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions are no longer deductions - such as unreimbursed employee expenses, tax preparation fees, and many investment expenses, and you do not get many of the "credits" that reduce your tax under FIT, and the rules that say rich man's income is not really income you need to report, such as Incentive Stock Options, are suddenly gone and one reports such income, and "rich man rules" that say wages are to be more taxable than income from investmets (since 90% of the income in the top 10% is investment income) are "partially" gone - so while Long-Term Capital Gains still get the rich man's tax forgiveness - those gains will reduce the AMT "excemption amount" (as in a deduction that begins to be phased out when your income goes above $112,500), and that Tax-Exempt Interest income may not be FULLY tax exempt from AMT tax, and of course some, but not all, Tax Shelters are curtailed in their ability to reduce the Alt Min income tax - albeit you can still get around most of this via partnership or limited liability company arrangements involving such activities such as oil and gas drilling - but the deduction is less.

As one can see, there is not much to the AMT that affects most folks - given the lower tax rate that is applied to the income defined under the AMT.

But fixes like marriage "penalty", the home interest deduction reduction, and "penalities" for people with children who live in high-tax states need to be fixed.