Subject: Paso Robles, CA 400% Tax Bracket, which is over 5 times my actual gain, the time for reform of ISO-AMT has come! Comment: Dear Honorable Panel Members: I am writing to let you know about the devastating effects the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) as applied to incentive stock options (ISOs) has had on my wife and I. ISO AMT has devastated our life, financial situation and our future. I would respectfully request that part of your recommendation to the President and Secretary Snow be to work with my California Senators and my Congressman, the Honorable Bill Thomas, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee to help quickly change this grossly unfair and unintended tax application. My wife received stock options from her company as part of her compensation for all her hard work. Throughout the year in 2000, we saved money and used it to exercise the options. We considered the tax implications of selling or holding. We were advised and agreed to follow the strong tax incentives Congress put in place for ISOs to hold on to the stock for long term capital gain and support her company, rather than selling immediately and paying approximately $50,000 more in short term taxes. We believed strongly and still do in our company, and in the market for the long term, looking to accumulate stock and other assets for our future and for our eventual retirement. In 2001, the market’s steep decline reduced the value of our stock by over 90%. To make matters worse, we received a tax bill from the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Bureau (FTB) for a combined amount of close to $150,000. This was over 5 times the amount we realized from our stock holdings. We had never heard of the AMT, nor could we have ever imagined we would have to pay taxes on stock GAINS WE NEVER REALIZED. Our situation grew steadily worse, I lost my job, our savings were dwindling quickly, and we started getting calls from IRS and FTB collection agents demanding that we pay the taxes due. We could barely pay our bills much less pay $150,000 in cash to the IRS and the State of California. The IRS had suggested an installment agreement, but the $3,800 a month they required was far beyond anything we could afford. We were also warned that if we accepted the agreement and missed or were late on a single payment, the full amount would be due immediately and collection actions would be taken, i.e. seizing of assets and property. The IRS knew we never made the money on the stocks for which we were being taxed, but that didn’t matter to them. They were aware I had been unemployed for 18 months, and they didn’t care. They said I had the potential to earn, which in their mind is the same as cash. Meanwhile, we tried to refinance our home to lower our payments so we could have additional money to pay bills, but the IRS had placed a lien on our property and we were denied the opportunity to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in history. The IRS refused to lift the lien, even temporarily, to allow us to refinance. We were forced to hire tax attorneys and CPA’s to help us with our predicament, all to no avail. We submitted an Offer In Compromise. We were rejected, the IRS claimed we had the ability to pay, even though I had been unemployed for over a year and a half and had been dipping into my home equity line of credit just to survive and pay our bills. For over three years we lived in constant fear of losing our home, our car, our bank accounts, everything. All the while dealing with harassing calls from the IRS and the FTB. My wife was afraid we’d be sent to prison for not paying the taxes. She had heard so many horror stories of what the IRS does to people who don’t pay their taxes. Having been an independent contractor for many years and using credit cards to pay for travel and business expenses, I had established a fairly high credit limit. The IRS told me that I had access to credit so PAY UP. I was forced into an installment agreement to keep from losing our home (the IRS had placed a lien on it). The IRS demanded $50,000 in cash and monthly payments of $730 per month to pay of the remaining $74,000. I was forced into putting it on my credit card. Since the IRS compounds interest daily, we will never be able to pay off the balance in our lifetime. Prior to that, we had been forced into an installment agreement with the FTB, paying $700 per month. There was no way we could pay both monthly payments, equaling over $1,400 per month (remember, I had been unemployed for 18 months), so we were forced into paying the remaining $18,000 balance due the FTB with my credit card to eliminate at least one of the monthly payments. I was unable keep up with the credit card payments on an outstanding balance of close to $70,000. Now, I am several months behind on credit card payments. The credit card companies and collection agencies are now making threatening calls daily. I’m now getting letters from attorneys on behalf of the credit card companies. My credit rating, which was perfect all my life, is now ruined. This nightmare just keeps going on and on… I’m 51 years old and I should be turning my thoughts toward retirement and a comfortable future. My own government has dashed these hopes and dreams forever. We are being punished in the worst way possible, and our crime? Our crime was working hard and being honest. I always felt that these were the values that America embraced. Study hard, get a good education, get a good job, work hard, be honest and be rewarded. Unless relief comes quickly, I will have been sadly mistaken. This law needs to be changed immediately to help the thousands of people who are in the same predicament as my wife and I. We hope that you will understand that there are some very good people who have been caught in the AMT nightmare and are facing financial ruin for the rest of their lives. Please show your leadership and do what you can to change this law. Sincerely, Mark Garner 122 Riverbank Lane Paso Robles, CA 93446-1919 (805) 239-1287 Email: mhgarner@charter.net |