Subject: I paid tax on a stock I had not even sold! ISO-AMT is un-American Comment: Dear Chairman's Mack & Breaux, The testimony I provided last year to the Ways & Means Oversight Committee still applies, please assert your influence and leadership to bring about it's reform. Statement of James C. Carlisle, Jr. To The House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight Washington, D.C. June 2004 My name is James C. Carlisle, Jr. I am a 35 year old Computer Engineer. My experience with the alternative minimum tax began in 2000 when I exercised approximately 4000 shares of Intel incentive stock options. I received these options after Intel purchased the company where I worked for several years. AMT is very confusing and complicated, and I had to seek a tax professional (CPA) for the first time in my life when I exercised these shares. I had a tax bill of around $70,000 and used credit cards and loans from family for this. I paid tax on a stock I had not even sold yet. Then the stock market crashed and my holdings were only worth around $120,000. I have since sold all the stock to cover debts largely generated from AMT liability. I still have a large AMT credit (around $37,000) that is not earning interest but which cannot be reclaimed any time soon. The AMT is unfair because I sold all the stock but still cannot get my credit back within a reasonable amount of time. AMT was not intended for the middle class, which I am. AMT is bad tax policy because it is too complicated for even highly educated people to understand well enough for good tax planning. AMT is very unfair for the many other people who were affected to a much larger degree than I was. James C. Carlisle, Jr. Raleigh, NC 13th Congressional District |