Newsletter Archive

July 22, 2005

At a hearing on Wednesday, July 20, members of The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform expressed strong support for repeal of the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). Here is a selection from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center's work on the AMT and repeal options:

• Updated AMT Coverage, Revenue and Distribution Tables
  July 21, 2005
• The Expanding Reach of the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
  Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale and Jeffrey Rohaly
  May 31, 2005
• Suppose They Took the AM Out of the AMT?
  Leonard E. Burman and David Weiner
  November 13, 2004
• The Individual AMT: Problems and Potential Solutions
  Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale, Jeffrey Rohaly and Benjamin H. Harris
  September 18, 2002

Updated AMT Coverage, Revenue and Distribution Tables
July 21, 2005

These tables show the trends for AMT revenue and participation over the next ten years, in the aggregate and by demographic breakdowns. They also show the revenue and distributional effects of options for reforming or eliminating the AMT.

The Expanding Reach of the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale and Jeffrey Rohaly
May 31, 2005

This article focuses on both the original minimum tax and its successor, the AMT. The minimum tax and the AMT have applied in the past to a small minority of high-income households. But barring a change in law, this "class tax" will soon be a "mass tax". By 2010, repealing the AMT will cost more than repealing the regular income tax. This report updates an article originally published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives to reflect tax laws passed in 2003 and 2004 and the latest economic projections.

Suppose They Took the AM Out of the AMT?
Leonard E. Burman and David Weiner
November 13, 2004

The individual AMT was originally intended to assure that high-income people paid at least some tax, but the AMT was poorly designed and affects more and more middle-income people every year. The AMT raises a lot of tax revenue, however: reforming or eliminating it could cost $500 billion or more over the next decade. Consequently, some suggest that the best option would be to make the AMT the regular tax system, rather than an alternative. This paper examines the implications of basing a reformed tax system on the AMT rules.

The Individual AMT: Problems and Potential Solutions
Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale, Jeffrey Rohaly and Benjamin H. Harris
September 18, 2002

This paper was the Tax Policy Center's first extensive analysis of the issues posed by the AMT. The article provides information on the history and workings of the AMT, its economic effects, and options for policy reform.

For more on the Perspectives on Tax Reform series, visit http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/newsevents/events_prelude_series.

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