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Memo to McCain: Repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax Will Increase Federal Revenues . . . Duh!

By Eric Muller

It's tax time, and many Americans are again feeling the pinch of the Alternative Minimum Tax -- a tax calculation imposed long ago to insure that the wealthiest Americans paid taxes. Unfortunately, the AMT was not indexed to inflation, so over time, bracket creep brought it to the middle class. What's surprising to me is John McCain has not been on the stump demanding that Congress just eliminate the AMT. Yes, just repeal it. Why? Because, according to McCain, tax cuts increase federal revenues. That is, tax cuts pay for themselves and then some. (Yippee!) Supply-Side economic-types live and breath the truism that tax cuts actually increase growth in the economy and, hence, revenues to the Treasury. So how much easier could the answer be in solving the AMT crisis (or any crisis really)? Just cut the damn AMT out of the Internal Revenue Code and . . . bingo! . . . Americans will start making more money and the federal budget will be balanced. Isn't that right? Isn't that the way tax cuts have worked in America since McCain became one of those Reagan foot soldiers back in 1981? So why isn't the GOP demanding the repeal of the AMT on the ground that the damned tax-and-spend Democrat[ ] Party is once again in the way of progress? Here's a thought . . . maybe the GOP isn't demanding the AMT's repeal on Supply-Side grounds because the AMT is now a *middle-class* tax problem. It's not like the high-enders will reap the big rewards from its repeal. And if the high-enders aren't going to get oodles more money in their stockings at Christmas, then why bother? My point? That the GOP -- and John McCain -- is full of shit on taxes and tax cuts. Someone should call him on it . . . but I won't be holding my breath.

Full post as published by Is That Legal on April 12, 2008 (boomark / email).