Rangel moves to abolish AMT

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson is “increasingly concerned” that Congress will delay extending relief from the alternative minimum tax for another year. “It is obvious that Congress does not have the time this year to undertake a large, complex tax bill, and I am increasingly concerned that we are not seeing timely action on an AMT patch,” Mr. Paulson said after House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., introduced major tax legislation that would abolish the AMT. The legislation introduced by Mr. Rangel “would dramatically raise taxes in ways that in my judgment would hinder America’s ability to compete in the global economy,” Mr. Paulson said. A proposed new surtax on individual income would burden millions of small businesses and undermine job creation, and the corporate proposals would hurt the ability of businesses to compete as well, the Treasury secretary said. The legislation announced by Mr. Rangel would abolish the AMT, while adding a 4% surtax on people earning more than $150,000 a year, or $200,000 for couples. The bill would allow the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that are the economic centerpiece of the Bush administration to expire. It also would reduce the corporate income tax rate, but it would limit deductions that many companies can take. Mr. Rangel’s bill is being viewed in Washington as a prelude to the presidential campaign debate about taxes.