AMT bill unlikely to become law

Legislation that would save about 25 million taxpayers from paying the AMT this year was approved today by a vote of 233-189 in the House. The legislation, which is not likely to pass the Senate, would provide relief from the alternative minimum tax for only one year, while permanently raising taxes on hedge fund managers. Taxes would be increased by $31 billion over the next 10 years on hedge fund managers by increasing income taxes on them. Under the legislation, taxes would be raised $61.6 billion over the next 10 years. House Democrats voted 223-6 in favor of the bill, while House Republicans overwhelming voted against it, 10-183. “The main difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats don’t believe we should pay for the cost of this bill by adding to the national debt,” Ways and Means Committee chairman and bill author Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “We know how this political exercise is going to end,” Ways and Means ranking member Jim McCrery, R-La., said in a separate statement. “Congress will eventually pass an AMT patch without tax increases as was done last year. I look forward to the Senate removing these ill-advised tax increases and helping us pass a clean AMT patch.”