Subject: alternative minimum tax Comment: I was pleased to read that you're recommending eliminating the alternative minimum tax. The current effect of the tax is to limit local jurisdicitions ability to collect income and property taxes. The bulk of the other "abuses" penalized by the AMT were wiped out by the 86 reform limiting the deduction of passive losses. You have 2 choices to make up the revenues. One is to eliminate itemized deductions and replace it with a flat percentage deduction and secondly is to raise the base rate. I recommend a similar approach with exemptions. Just eliminate them entirely. In lieu of exemptions and itemized deductions, just allow taxpayers with incomes over 50% to deduct 15% of their adjusted gross income to arrive at taxable income and allow lower income taxpayers to itemize if it benefits them. |