Foster Stands Up for 77,000 14th District Taxpayers

Press Release

Today, Congressman Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to protect families from the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

"Families in Illinois are struggling in these difficult economic times, and the last thing they need is to be hit with additional taxes," Foster said. "One of my first actions in Congress was to introduce legislation that assists in property tax relief, and I am proud to continue my work to reduce the tax burden by voting to responsibly provide tax-relief to our families."

The AMT was originally introduced to ensure that the country's most affluent families did not escape paying taxes entirely. However, the AMT now adversely affects many middle-class families who were not the original targets of the tax.

"The AMT has become a tremendous burden on families throughout the nation," Foster said. "Passing this legislation is essential because without it, 25 million families would be faced with a tax increase, including an estimated 77,000 tax-filers in the 14th district of Illinois."

The Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act, H.R. 6275, would provide families with tax relief in 2008 by extending AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increasing the AMT exemption amounts for joint filers and individuals. In addition, the bill responsibly provides relief to families by ensuring that the number of taxpayers subjected to the AMT will not increase.

The legislation does not add to the deficit, offsetting the cost of tax-relief by closing loopholes in the tax code, encouraging tax compliance and repealing excessive government subsidies given to oil companies.

Source