ABA URGES CONGRESS TO SIMPLIFY
THE NATION'S TAX LAWS,
REPEAL THE INDIVIDUAL ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX
WASHINGTON, DC—The American Bar Association
today urged Congress to step up its efforts to simplify the nation's tax law by
repealing the individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
In testimony before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways
and Means,
Kenneth W. Gideon, Chair of the ABA Section of Taxation, noted that the dual tax system created by the individual AMT is one of the most serious complexity problems in the current code. “Each year, more and more middle class Americans must compute their taxes under two systems to determine which tax they must pay,” Gideon said. The AMT was enacted with the aim of ensuring all taxpayers would pay their fair share, but today the AMT is instead increasing the tax burden on Americans for whom the tax was never intended. “ For this reason, the American Bar Association believes the individual AMT should be repealed."
In his statement before the Subcommittee on Oversight,
Gideon noted that it’s very likely replacement sources of revenue will have to be identified if Congress is to repeal the individual AMT, but, he added, the time has come to eliminate the complexity and burden of having two different tax systems.
"We understand that simplification is not easy, but it is worth the cost,” said Gideon. "It pays dividends in terms of easing the burden of compliance for all taxpayers, simplifying the task of taxpayer education and law enforcement for the IRS, and improving taxpayer morale by making it easier to appreciate that the law operates fairly for all taxpayers."
Gideon also testified that even if simplification such as an AMT repeal cannot be accomplished immediately, there are a range of important, but smaller, simplification proposals that Congress could consider. The complete testimony can be found at www.abanet.org/tax.
The American Bar Association Section of Taxation has more than 20,000 tax lawyer members nationwide. Its goals include helping taxpayers better understand their rights and obligations under the tax laws and working to make the tax system fairer, simpler and easier to administer.
The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. With more than 410,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.
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