TaxVox: Individual Taxes

Late last night, the Senate passed, by a vote of 88–5, a one-year increase in the AMT exemption without the offsetting tax increases in the version that passed the House. The rejected House version would take ten years of small tax increases to pay for a one-year AMT patch, leaving open the question of how to pay for next year's patch, but at least that bill follows the letter of the PAYGO rules. The Senate bill is an outright $50 billion tax cut.

Interesting to watch the Republican debate last night. Once they got past their arguments about who hired whom with a "funny accent" or who would build a bigger barrier across the Mexican border (Duncan Hunter trumped everyone by promising to build a double fence), the Presidential candidates tackled the "no tax" pledge invented a decade ago by Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Their answers were revealing.

adaniller posted some thoughtful comments in response to my November 20 article on Social Security. He argues that while the program's shortfall may be worrisome in the long-run, there is no compelling reason to fix it now. Rather, we should wait, carefully consider the problem, and weigh potential solutions.

The IRS is talking about making taxpayer information available online. I am terrified. According to the Don't Mess With Taxes blog, the director of the agency's Office of Electronic Tax Administration, David R. Williams, says that up to three years of returns may be made available to taxpayers as soon as next summer. This is the Service's attempt to be customer-friendly in a 21st century sort of way. And, to some, it may seem like a great convenience. But….