[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SECOND AMT BILL INTRODUCED

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                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, a week ago I introduced 
legislation to allow nonrefundable personal credits, like the child 
credit and education credits, to be used against the alternative 
minimum tax. I have introduced this legislation in the past two 
Congresses, and it has been enacted into law twice on a temporary 
basis.
  The legislation I introduce today corrects an additional critical 
problem with the AMT. In this case, the mere fact that a family has a 
large number of children forces them to become alternative minimum tax 
taxpayers, and they lose some of the benefit of their personal 
exemptions.
  For example, my office has been in touch with a family in North 
Carolina for over a year. This military family has ten children, are 
home schoolers, and began to pay the alternative minimum tax in 1998. 
An extension of the temporary law regarding nonrefundable personal 
credits will not help this family, and neither will President Bush's 
tax proposal help them out of the AMT or give them a rate reduction. 
While it may be true that this family will be ``no worse off'' than 
they are now, they will not be any better off either in terms of their 
current situation. I do not believe relief for this family from the 
alternative minimum tax should wait until it is more convenient, or 
until after this year is over.
  Mr. Speaker, I think all the members of this body would agree that 
this family is not the type of family we meant to pay the minimum tax. 
They do not have large tax preferences with which they are sheltering 
income. Yet they are paying the minimum tax. Mr. Speaker, I hope all 
members will not just agree that we should provide families like this 
one relief, I hope they will act to provide that relief on the first 
tax bill on which Congress works.

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