[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 118 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9781-S9782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. 
        Allard, and Mr. Brownback):
  S. 1855. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
relief to individuals from the penalty for failure to pay estimated 
taxes on amounts attributable to the alternative minimum tax in cases 
where the taxpayer was not subject to the alternative minimum tax in 
the preceding year; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, right now millions of Americans don't 
know whether they should be paying an estimated tax because Congress 
hasn't passed AMT relief. In other words, there are many taxpayers who 
will be facing a big tax bill if we don't pass AMT relief. By law, many 
of these taxpayers should be paying estimated tax right now based on 
the fact that as the law is today, they are subject to the AMT. In 
order to these taxpayers, I am introducing the AMT Penalty Protection 
Act of 2007.
  Under this legislation, in computing tax for purpose of the penalties 
in the

[[Page S9782]]

tax code dealing with estimated tax, a taxpayer would be permitted to 
disregard the alternative minimum tax if the individual was not liable 
for the alternative minimum tax for the preceding tax year.
  So if you didn't have to pay AMT last year we aren't going to 
penalize you if you don't file estimated taxes for AMT this year.
  Just because Congress can't do its job, doesn't mean the taxpayer 
should be punished.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1855

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``AMT Penalty Protection Act 
     of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. ESTIMATED TAX SAFE HARBOR FOR ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX 
                   LIABILITY.

       (a) In General.--Section 6654 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (relating to failure by individual to pay estimated 
     income tax) is amended by redesignating subsection (m) as 
     subsection (n) and by inserting after subsection (l) the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(m) Safe Harbor for Certain Alternative Minimum Tax 
     Payers.--In the case of any individual with respect to whom 
     there was no liability for the tax imposed under section 55 
     for the preceding taxable year--
       ``(1) any required payment calculated under subsection 
     (d)(1)(B)(i) shall be determined without regard to any tax 
     imposed under section 55,
       ``(2) any annualized income installment calculated under 
     subsection (d)(2)(B) shall determined without regard to 
     alternative minimum taxable income, and
       ``(3) the determination of the amount of the tax for the 
     taxable year for purposes of subsection (e)(1) shall not 
     include the amount of any tax imposed under section 55.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

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