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June 25, 2008                                          www.house.gov/tauscher

Tauscher Backs Tax Cuts for 104,000 Families from Livermore to Fairfield

Joins Democratic colleagues providing AMT relief for 25 million American families

Washington DC - Today, the House passed H.R. 6275, The Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.  The bill will provide 25 million American families with tax cuts, without increasing the national debt.  These tax cuts will help to ease the strain of rising gas and food prices and are a critical part of the Democratic Congress' plan to grow the American economy, which economists and other experts agree is in a recession.  The legislation works by ensuring that the number of taxpayers subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will not increase.

"It's beyond belief that at a time when gas has surpassed four dollars a gallon, grocery prices are soaring and families are deciding whether or not they can afford a vacation this summer, 25 million American families would be hit with a tax that was designed for millionaires," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher.                 

The bill protects 104,206 households in Rep. Tauscher's Congressional district -- from Livermore to Walnut Creek to Fairfield -- from being subjected to a provision meant to ensure that multi-millionaires were not avoiding paying any taxes.  Because it was never indexed for inflation, millions middle class families are now being hit by the AMT. 

The tax breaks are fully paid-for by repealing unnecessary government subsidies for the big five oil companies, treating income earned by investment managers the same as income earned for providing any other service, and by encouraging tax compliance.

"Not only does this bill provide relief, but it won't increase the national debt because unlike President Bush's deficit-creating tax cuts this one takes into account our country's long-term economic stability.  Instead of relying on the ‘spend and borrow' practices that got the economy where it is today, this bill makes sure that everything is paid for," said Rep. Tauscher.