Legal Commentary

Why Was The AMT Fix Thrown Into The Stimulus Package?

By Big Tent Democrat

If Ben Nelson really wanted to "trim the fat, fr[y] the bacon and milk[] the sacred cows," why didn't he remove the alternative Minimum Tax "fix" from the stimulus package? Let's be clear - the Senate stimulus bill costs MORE than the House bill and does much less to stimulate job creation. As a NYTimes editorial points out:

Nearly $70 billion of the Senate bill is spent on providing a one-year reprieve from the alternative minimum tax. It . . . is a measure that passes easily each year on its own. A fair deal would be to take A.M.T. relief out of the package — contingent on a promise from Mr. Obama to champion a separate relief bill as soon as possible.

The first Media person to ask why the non-stimulative AMT fix is in the stimulus package will win respect as a competent journalist. UPDATE - Even Fred Hiatt's WaPo agrees:

[S]ince AMT relief was probably already factored into household plans for this year anyway, it's hard to see how this belongs in an economic stimulus bill.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).