Cantwell Praises Senate Passed Tax Cut
One Year Fix is a Good Start; More Must Be Done
WASHINGTON, DC – Over 273,000 Washingtonians will receive a tax break on their 2007 returns due to passage of the Alternative Minimum Tax Act of 2007 (AMT). U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) supported the measure which passed Thursday but is disappointed that Republican leadership prevented the Senate from passing fiscally responsible AMT relief.
“While passage of this bill will bring much needed tax relief to hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians, I am distressed that it wasn’t done so in a fiscally responsible way that works to reduce our soaring deficit,” said Cantwell. “I hope that Republican leadership won’t continue to stand in the way of passing critical extensions of expiring tax relief including state sales tax deductibility, the research and development tax credit and tax credits for our nation’s students and teachers. I will continue to work to make the sales tax deduction a permanent feature of our tax code.”
The alternative minimumtax was passed in 1969 and was aimed at the wealthiest Americans who useddeductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT disallows certain deductions and credits. It was not adjusted for inflation and as a result over the years it has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers.
More than 4 million Americans were subject to the AMT in the 2006 tax year. In Washington state, 1.7 percent of taxpayers (50,000) were subject to the AMT, out of 2.9 million tax returns filed. Washington ranked 36th in terms of the percentage of AMT returns to total returns.
The Senate passed legislation is a temporary fix, meaning that more than 22 million taxpayers nationwide, and an estimated 273,000 Washingtonians, will not be subject to the AMT in 2007.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Over 273,000 Washingtonians will receive a tax break on their 2007 returns due to passage of the Alternative Minimum Tax Act of 2007 (AMT). U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) supported the measure which passed Thursday but is disappointed that Republican leadership prevented the Senate from passing fiscally responsible AMT relief.
“While passage of this bill will bring much needed tax relief to hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians, I am distressed that it wasn’t done so in a fiscally responsible way that works to reduce our soaring deficit,” said Cantwell. “I hope that Republican leadership won’t continue to stand in the way of passing critical extensions of expiring tax relief including state sales tax deductibility, the research and development tax credit and tax credits for our nation’s students and teachers. I will continue to work to make the sales tax deduction a permanent feature of our tax code.”
The alternative minimumtax was passed in 1969 and was aimed at the wealthiest Americans who useddeductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT disallows certain deductions and credits. It was not adjusted for inflation and as a result over the years it has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers.
More than 4 million Americans were subject to the AMT in the 2006 tax year. In Washington state, 1.7 percent of taxpayers (50,000) were subject to the AMT, out of 2.9 million tax returns filed. Washington ranked 36th in terms of the percentage of AMT returns to total returns.
The Senate passed legislation is a temporary fix, meaning that more than 22 million taxpayers nationwide, and an estimated 273,000 Washingtonians, will not be subject to the AMT in 2007.
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