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1 Gerald Prante & Andrew Chamberlain, IRS Data Reveal Some Congressional Districts Hit Harder by Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) than Others 1 (2007)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/ffhcxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: TAX FOUNDATION: January 9, 2007 IRS Data Reveal Some Congressional Districts Hit Harder by Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) than Others by Gerald Prante and Andrew Chamberlain Fiscal Fact No. 72 As the 110th Congress convenes this month a key issue facing lawmakers is whether to reform- or possibly repeal-the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Although the growing AMT has caused anxiety throughout Congress, not all lawmakers' congressional districts are equally affected. An analysis of recently released IRS data reveals that some congressional districts are much more heavily affected by AMT expansion than others-suggesting some federal lawmakers have a much stronger incentive to reform the AMT than others. Background on the Growing AMT The AMT was originally designed as a backstop for the federal income tax, and affected only a small number of wealthy taxpayers. But its reach has grown in recent years, and it has begun drawing in middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers as well. In 2000 just 1.3 million tax returns were subject to the AMT. If left unreformed, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the number of AMT returns will spike to 19 million in 2006, reaching a peak of 29 million in 2010-nearly 20 percent of all tax filers-before tapering off sharply.' As a result, reforming the AMT has become a key legislative priority for many Members of Congress. Which Congressional Districts Are Most Affected? Of the 435 congressional districts and the District of Columbia, Table 1 presents the 20 districts 2 most heavily affected by the AMT in 2004, the most recent year available from the IRS. The table presents the percentage of tax returns hit by the AMT, the average AMT tax liability for those returns,3 and the name and political affiliation of the Member of the House of Representatives who represents each district in Congress. Congressional districts in New York, New Jersey and California dominate the list of areas most affected by the AMT. New York's 18th congressional district tops the list with 13.5 percent of all tax returns subject to the AMT. Overall, nine New York congressional districts appear in the top 20, while California and New Jersey each have four, and Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland each have one.

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