Did You Know?

The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 to capture taxes from 155 families who were so rich and so skilled at using the many arcane provisions of the tax code that they paid little or no income taxes. But because Congress erred and failed to index the provision for inflation, as many as twenty-three to twenty-five million middle-class taxpayers have technically already lost eligibility for deductions for children, real estate, and state taxes, as well as other exemptions and deductions. Oops! Congress passes a legislative “patch” each year to keep the AMT from going into effect but still counts the projected income from this growing Congressional error against federal spending.