U.S. House Hands Americans a $61.6 Billion Tax Increase

Today, the House passed H.R. 6275, the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act, sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). This atrocious bill would impose $61.6 billion

in permanent tax increases on businesses and individuals over eleven years in order to temporarily prevent for just one year a huge, unintended tax increase. This bill would place a one-year “patch” on the exemption level for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), without which more than 25 million taxpayers would be subject to a large tax increase beginning in tax-year 2008.

Congressman Charles Rangel (the bill’s architect) and I had a nice little debate about it on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning.

What makes this bill worse is that it would single out oil and gas companies from a broad domestic manufacturing tax deduction available to nearly all manufacturing in the United States. This is an irresponsible measure. Not only would it create disincentives for domestic energy production and investment, but it would make foreign energy investment and reliance more attractive. At a time when gas prices are soaring , increasing taxes on energy companies will make it even less likely that energy prices can come down.

We should completely repeal this antiquated tax policy without tax increases and give American taxpayers the full relief they deserve. This bill is a permanent tax increase to give a one-year tax cut. That’s a really a bad deal for the American people.

For more info on this legislation, check out my article published today by National Review Online: Be Pro-Choice: The AMT really has a hold on the middle class.