Taxpayers Anxiously Await Annual 'Patch' to Alternative Minimum Tax

[Sarge]

Is there anything left that this bunch can **** up?



http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...imum-tax-hr-block-warning-delay-tax-increase/

Of all the tax issues facing Congress when it returns for a lame duck session after the Nov. 2 midterm elections, the annual rite of patching the Alternative Minimum Tax will be the most urgent.

Unlike the debate over the Bush tax cuts, which will affect taxpayers' income in 2011, the AMT applies to 2010. And the delay in patching it is already causing problems and raising alarms for large numbers of middle-income taxpayers -- as many as 25 million Americans, according to one expert -- who could face a huge increase in their tax payments if Congress doesn't act.

 

[Goaldeje]

Let's see if they try to pass it while also trying to sneak in something to legalize the foreclosure cluster**** that's happening right now.

Go Congress!

 

[Sarge]

That's what I'm waiting for, maybe attaching and trying to repeal don't ask, don't tell on the way out the door. Election day is only two weeks away. I hope it's the wipeout everyone is predicting

 

[Goaldeje]

That's what I'm waiting for, maybe attaching and trying to repeal don't ask, don't tell on the way out the door. Election day is only two weeks away. I hope it's the wipeout everyone is predicting

Oh, it's gonna be ugly. I hate to say it, having voted Repub every election in my life so far, but I'm not actually sure their gonna do much better. Both sides seem intent on not working together at all, making it impossible to actually get anything done.

 

[Sarge]

Oh, it's gonna be ugly. I hate to say it, having voted Repub every election in my life so far, but I'm not actually sure their gonna do much better. Both sides seem intent on not working together at all, making it impossible to actually get anything done.

The country may actually be safer that way.

And I hear you about the voting thing. I, die hard uber conservative Sarge, voted for both of our wastoid democrat senators in Virginia because they actually sounded more conservative than the Repubs

Last time I'll do that. Both have been Obama "Yes" votes the last two years

 

[Goaldeje]

For the second time today:
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Elephant]

I have been thinking about this for a while now, and complete takeover of Congress would not be an ideal situation for Republicans in the bigger picture.

In '94 when the Republicans won Congress, Gingrich and Clinton fought bitterly in the public eye, but both knew nothing could get done without the other. Clinton came back to the center and a lot of good legislation was introduced. They worked together to compromise and get things done, regardless of the disdain for each other.

If the Republicans win both House and Senate, there will be a huge stale mate in the Federal government. Obama will never compromise with Boehner or McConnell. Obama will continue to call Republicans the party of no since they won't work with his idealogical bull****. Nothing will get done in Washington and there will be another outcry against Washington in general. It could mean a second term for Obama since he could make it seem like Republicans have done nothing since taking office since he vetoed every piece of Legislation that came to his desk.

Here's the best scenario for this country. A Republican majority in the House of Representatives, ousting Queen Pelosi! A narrow victory for the Dems in the Senate, but Sharon Angle winning in Nevada so Harry Reid is fired as well.
This scenario leaves Dems in control, but unable to pass anymore of their socialist agenda. If they want to get anything done, they will have to move to the center. If nothing gets done, they will be blamed since they will still hold major control. When 2012 comes, Obama cannot possibly escape his demise!

 

[Alaskan]

Obama cannot possibly escape his demise!

Answer the door Elephant. That's the Secret Service knocking.

 

[Elephant]

Answer the door Elephant. That's the Secret Service knocking.

Unfortunately Alaskan, those conspiracy theorists out there are correct. There actually are programs controlled by the US Congress out there that track our every move on the interwebz.

 

[Goaldeje]

The truth is out there.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Alaskan]

Unfortunately Alaskan, those conspiracy theorists out there are correct. There actually are programs controlled by the US Congress out there that track our every move on the interwebz.

Why do I get this image of Nancy Pelosi sitting there with a bowl of popcorn while she’s reading about big Mike’s love life?

 

[Sarge]

Why do I get this image of Nancy Pelosi sitting there with a bowl of popcorn while she’s reading about big Mike’s love life?

I'd prefer she do that instead of jamming stuff like health care down everyone's throats

 

[Alaskan]

Oh she's got plenty of spare time Sarge. It's not like she has any 2000 page bills she needs to read.

 

[Pravda]

AMT is such nonsense given the way it's currently applied.

We must stop passing laws which are based on a premise of indexing or aging but which lack the legal mechanics for equitable and politically possible changes to be made to address the underlying shifts that are required to keep the laws true to their original premise.

Another example in addition to AMT is social security. When that was created, the life expectancy was below 65. It was an illusory benefit!!!

Similar concept with the AMT -- it was set to catch people that were not paying income tax and were only paying on dividends and interest or were offsetting all of their taxes with charitable donations or other tax deductions. That almost couldn't be further from who it catches now.

In each of these cases, we've backed ourselves into situations where we've created something that was intended to do one thing (i.e., have the vast majority of people pay toward a benefit that the very few people that lived beyond retirement would receive in the case of Social Security and in the case of the AMT, prevent rich people from avoiding their fair share of tax burden) to doing something completely different: maintaining people's expectation of retirement at 65 even when life expectancies have increased dramatically and creating a major revenue source (and burden for the many in the middle and upper middle class that are now subject to AMT) out of something that was supposed to capture the ultra wealthy.

In both cases, the laws have become almost politically impossible to fix to return them to their original purpose as both society and Congress have grown dependent on their unintended consequences.

Not a great situation.

 

[redskins26]

If they had something similar to a 401K from 1969 to 2009 a husband and wife would have retired in 2009 with 885,000 in that account. under SS they would have never amassed that amount of money