FAILURE TO LEAD ON AMT

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FAILURE TO LEAD ON AMT
Hillary And Obama Claim They Want Alternative Minimum Tax Reform, But Fail To Lead On Providing Relief For Middle Class Americans
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CLINTON AND OBAMA CONTINUE TO FAIL TO LEAD ON AMT

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Said She Would Reform The AMT, Then Deferred, Then Failed To Provide A Plan, Then Failed To Vote:

Hillary Claimed She Would Reform The AMT "To Make Sure It Doesn't Hit Middle Class Families." Hillary: "[I] will reform something called the Alternative Minimum Tax, the AMT, to make sure it doesn't hit middle class families with higher tax rates. It was never intended to do that." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks On "Rebuilding The Middle Class: Hillary Clinton's Economic Blueprint For The 21st Century," Cedar Rapids, IA, 10/8/07)

Hillary Said She Would Delegate AMT Reform To Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). "She also said she would defer to Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, on fixing the alternative minimum tax. ... 'I know that we have to do it,' she said, '...but I'm not going to dictate how it should be done because there's a lot of horse-trading going on here.'" (Jackie Calmes, "Clinton Turns To Economic Issues," The Wall Street Journal, 10/9/07)

Hillary Then Refused To Support Rangel's Plan. NBC's Tim Russert: "But you will not campaign on the Rangel plan?" Hillary: "No, no. That's Charlie Rangel's plan." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

A Clinton Spokesman Said Hillary Would Work To Enact Reform, "But Declined To Provide Specifics." "[Clinton] spokesman Isaac Baker said that as president, 'she would work to enact long-term AMT reform' but declined to provide specifics." (Todd Gillman, "Tax Bomb Keeps Ticking Even As AMT Barges Into Middle Class, Few Candidates Discuss It," The Dallas Morning News, 11/20/07)
Clinton Missed The Vote To Invoke Cloture On Rep. Charles Rangel's Bill, H.R. 3996, Which Provided AMT Relief While Simultaneously Raising "Taxes On Small Business And Entrepreneurs By $81 Billion." (H.R. 3996, CQ Vote #414: Motion Rejected 46 - 48: R 0 - 47; D 44 - 1; I 2 - 0, 12/6/07, Clinton Did Not Vote)

"[H].R. 3996 ... Raises Taxes On Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs By $81 Billion, In Order To Recover The Revenue That Is 'Lost' By Not Mistakenly Ensnaring Millions Of Americans In The AMT." (David Freddoso, "Democrats' ATM, The AMT," National Review, 11/16/07)

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Has Not Led On The AMT, Neglecting To Vote Today And Failing To Even Mention The AMT In His Campaign Tax Proposal:

Neither Obama Nor Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) Mentioned The AMT In Their Detailed Economic Plans. "Neither Senator Obama of Illinois nor John Edwards of North Carolina make any mention of the tax in the detailed economic plans each has released recently, drawing criticism from some top policy scholars. The absence of the issue from their campaign literature suggests that reforming the minimum tax, which could hit as many as 23 million Americans next year, is far lower on the candidates' wish list than for their counterparts on Capitol Hill." (Russell Berman, "Democratic Candidates Silent On Alternative Minimum Tax," The New York Sun, 9/20/07)


An Obama Spokeswoman Said He Believes It Should Be Reformed, But Again Had No Specifics Or Solutions. "A spokeswoman for Mr. Obama, Jennifer Psaki, said he believes it is 'outdated and in need of sustainable, long-term reform. He looks forward to working in a bipartisan fashion to reform the AMT in the future.'" (Russell Berman, "Democratic Candidates Silent On Alternative Minimum Tax," The New York Sun, 9/20/07)


Obama Missed The Vote To Invoke Cloture On Rep. Charles Rangel's Bill, H.R. 3996, Which Provides AMT Relief While Simultaneously Raising "Taxes On Small Business And Entrepreneurs By $81 Billion." (H.R. 3996, CQ Vote #414: Motion Rejected 46 - 48: R 0 - 47; D 44 - 1; I 2 - 0, 12/6/07, Obama Did Not Vote)

"[H].R. 3996 ... Raises Taxes On Small Businesses And Entrepreneurs By $81 Billion, In Order To Recover The Revenue That Is 'Lost' By Not Mistakenly Ensnaring Millions Of Americans In The AMT." (David Freddoso, "Democrats' ATM, The AMT," National Review, 11/16/07)

DEMOCRATS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TODAY'S AMT BURDEN


FLASHBACK: Democrats Are Responsible For The Creation Of The AMT, And President Clinton Helped Exacerbate The AMT Problem:

"Democrats Are The Ones Responsible For This -- For Creating The Tax In The First Place, For Raising It, And For Failing To Fix It In Time." (David Freddoso, "Democrats' ATM, The AMT," National Review, 11/16/07)

In 1969, A Democrat Congress Enacted The AMT, But Failed To Index It For Inflation. "The alternative minimum tax was originally enacted by a Democratic Congress in 1969 ... [T]he high income threshold at which the tax is triggered was never indexed to inflation." (David Freddoso, "Democrats' ATM, The AMT," National Review, 11/16/07)

The 1993 Democrat Congress Voted To Increase The Top AMT Rate From 24 Percent To 28 Percent, Which Was Signed Into Law By President Clinton. "The last time Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and Presidency, they chose to raise the AMT from 24 percent to a top rate of 28 percent." (Americans For Tax Reform Website, www.atr.org, Accessed 12/6/07)

If Not For The 1993 Dem Tax Hike, The AMT Would Impact 2.6 Million Americans, Opposed To 23 Million Today. "According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the AMT would have hit 'only' 2.6 million Americans next year if not for that tax hike." (Editorial, "Democrats And The AMT," The Wall Street Journal, 4/14/07)

"So Nearly 90% Of This [AMT] Problem Was Created The Last Time Democrats Ran The Government." (Editorial, "Democrats And The AMT," The Wall Street Journal, 4/14/07)

In 1999, President Clinton Vetoed Legislation That Would Have Repealed The Alternative Minimum Tax By Dec. 31, 2007. (H.R. 2488, Vetoed 9/23/99)

A Product Of The RNC Research Department