Tax and Spend Democrats Are At It Again

I don't remember where, but one of the lefty bloggers in the Ohiosphere had noted that there wasn't much being said by rightys on the AMT issue. Well, I've been a bit busy, but have been following the issue somewhat; so here goes... I'll start with what the Republican leadership is saying and then I'll close with some commentary of my own.

Rep. Blunt:

"Leave it to this majority to take a bill that's supposed to extend temporary AMT protection to the middle-class, and turn it into a bill that imposes a permanent tax of $81 billion on our economy. But not only is the policy at the center of this legislation irresponsible, the political games Democrats have decided to play in advancing it will prove equally devastating.

"After all, this is a bill the Senate wants nothing to do with, and one the president would veto if ever given the chance. The longer Democrats wait to work with Republicans on producing a genuine AMT fix, the greater the chances as many as 50 million Americans will experience significant delays in receiving their tax refund checks. This is money that many people depend on, and budget for, to meet basic needs for themselves and their families. But if we can't get a real patch through by next week, those delays - according the IRS - will be impossible to avoid.

"Republicans believe in providing tax relief across the board, as an end in its own right. Democrats may also believe in cutting some taxes for some Americans, but only if it means they're allowed to raise taxes on everyone else. As the deadline for action rapidly approaches, Democrats must put forth a real plan to save 23 million Americans from the indiscriminate net of the AMT. They can do that by passing a clean AMT patch before the Thanksgiving break so the president can sign it into law."

Rep. Boehner:

“Today’s $81 billion tax increase – the first installment of the $3.5 trillion Mother of All Tax Hikes – will never become law, and the Majority knows it. That’s because it’s a backdoor way of permanently taxing entrepreneurs who create family-wage jobs. The Senate won’t support it, and the President won’t sign it. The Majority insisted on today’s exercise in futility instead of acting with urgency on a bipartisan solution to protect middle-class taxpayers. Congress already has waited for months to begin addressing the AMT problem. We shouldn’t wait even longer to protect middle-class families from this punitive and onerous tax that they were never meant to pay in the first place.

“As a result of these delays, 50 million Americans will have Congress to thank when they have to wait weeks or months longer than normal for their tax refunds to arrive next year. Worse yet, if Congress continues stalling on an AMT fix, 23 million Americans will be forced to pay a tax they’ve never before had to face. Congress should stop playing political games and pass a clean AMT patch before Thanksgiving so the President can sign it into law.”

As usual, you can count on Democrats to make a lot of noise that diverts attention away from their true intentions. This time, Democrats are trying to make it appear that they are interested in giving the middle class a tax cut -- a tax, I should add, that the middle class was NEVER intended to ever pay anyway -- while actually raising taxes on the very people who the proposal was supposed to protect. It is typical behavior from the "most open and ethical Congress in history" and that goes to explain why the Pelosi/Reid Congress has such abyssmal approval ratings.

All but eight Democrats went along with this charade. Congressman Boehner is right: the Senate will not be interested in this and even if they are, the President would never sign this prescription for economic disaster. This is a stunt, like SCHIP, designed to be played out in the media as Republicans behaving badly; but like SCHIP, when the American people are told the facts, they figure out just who is playing the games. Look for this to backfire on the House Democrats once again...

If Democrats were serious about eliminating the AMT, they would have put up a bill that did just that. Republicans would support a clean bill that eliminates the AMT and that is why the Democrats refuse to stop playing politics long enough to reduce your tax bill.