Washington, DC – U.S. Rep. John Hall (D-NY19) this week voted to save almost 73,000 households in the 19th Congressional District from paying higher taxes under the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Legislation that has passed both the House and the Senate, and is now on the President's desk, offers more than $50 billion in middle-class tax relief.

 

"Families in the Hudson Valley have seen the cost of health care, gasoline and a college education skyrocket while their homes have lost value," said Hall. "Middle class families don't need more financial stress added to their budgets by a tax that is meant for millionaires."

 

The Hudson Valley is disproportionately affected by the AMT. In 2005, over 30,000 families paid the AMT in New York's 19th Congressional District. Without the Temporary Tax Relief Act, that number would balloon to over 103,000 families this year.  Only 12 Congressional Districts in the country have a larger number of families that would pay the AMT this year.

 

On Wednesday, the House passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, by a vote of 226 to 193.  The bill would extend for one year AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increases the AMT exemption amount to $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for individuals. The AMT was put into place to ensure that the wealthiest families did not escape paying taxes altogether. In 2000, the AMT affected less than 1 percent of taxpayers, but it has grown to be such a problem that it now threatens even middle class taxpayers such as teachers and firefighters – a far cry from its original intent.  Without the legislation Congressman Hall voted for, many more Hudson Valley families would be hit with an average tax increase of nearly $2,000.

 

Last month, Congressman Hall and the House passed H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, legislation that fully paid for AMT relief without adding to the national debt.  When the legislation went to the Senate, Senate Republicans blocked consideration of the House-passed legislation. The House twice passed revenue neutral AMT relief earlier this fall, but both measures, H.R. 3996 and H.R. 4351 fell victim to filibuster threats by Senate Republicans.

 

"We've worked to find every possible alternative to adhere to pay-as-you-go budget rules and reverse the years of irresponsibly mortgaging our children and grandchildren's futures with foreign-owned debt," said Hall.  "Unfortunately Senate Republicans and President Bush have road blocked this fiscal responsibility."

 

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