House Passes One-Year AMT Patch Without Offsetting Tax Increases; President Bush Is Expected to Sign Bill

The House voted 352 to 64 today to pass a one-year AMT patch without offsetting tax increases, agreeing to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3996 (The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007), thus violating the Democrats' pledge to adhere to PAYGO principles.  President Bush has stated that he will sign the bill.

• Legislative Language
• CBO Cost Estimate
• House Ways & Means Committee, Press Release
• Senate Finance Committee, Press Release
• Treasury Department, Press Release
• Associated Press:  Congress Acts to Prevent Expanded Tax, by Jim Abrams
• Bloomberg:  Democrats Bypass Budget Rule, Pass Minimum Tax Relief, by Alison Fitzgerald & Ryan J. Donmoyer
• CNN Money:  One-Year AMT Fix a Done Deal, by Jeanne Sahadi
• Forbes:  AMT Escape!, by Brian Wingfield,
• The Hill:  Parties to Make Campaign Issue of AMT, by Jessica Holzer
• L.A. Times:  House Drops Democrats' Guidelines to Pass Minimum Tax Relief, by Noam N. Levey & Jonathan Peterson
• New York Times:  House Votes to Spare Millions From Tax, by David Stout
• Newsday:  House Passes Alternative Minimum Tax Bill, by Tami Luhby
• Reuters:  Hedge Funds, Private Equity Avoid US Tax Increase, by Kevin Drawbaugh
• Tax Foundation:
  • AMT Patch Finally Receives Congressional Approval, Sparing Taxpayers Higher Taxes and Delayed Refunds (Press Release)
  • The Economics of an AMT Patch, by Gerald Prante
  • House Passes AMT Patch with No Offsets, by Gerald Prante
• Wall Street Journal:  Another Bush Tax Cut (editorial)