Garrett Fights for New Jersey Taxpayers
Press Release
Garrett Fights for New Jersey Taxpayers
Taxpayer Choice Act Eliminates AMT Bracket Creep
Today, US Representative Scott Garrett (NJ-5) joined his colleagues in unveiling legislation to protect hard-working taxpayers from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The Taxpayer Choice Act terminates the $841 billion tax increase that will occur if Congress fails to extend AMT relief or if Democrats institute alternative tax hikes to offset an AMT fix. Without action by Congress, more than 120,000 taxpayers in New Jersey's Fifth District will be forced to pay the AMT penalty, making it the fourth hardest hit district in the country, according to the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Taxpayer Choice Act also provides taxpayers with the option to pay taxes under the current code or under a simplified option which only has two income tax rates of 10 and 25 percent, giving them access to an alternative tax system which is fair, simple and efficient.
At a press conference announcing this legislation, Rep. Garrett stated:
"The Democrats have already introduced the largest tax increase in American history, demonstrating utter disregard for hard-working taxpayers. The Taxpayer Choice Act protects the American taxpayer and closes off the pockets of the American family from the addictive tax and spend habits of the new majority party."
"The outdated and onerous AMT disproportionally hurts the taxpayers of New Jersey. According to data from the House Ways and Means Committee as reported in Congressional Quarterly, unless Congress acts to extend the Republican AMT patch or to fix it altogether, four of the five heaviest hit Congressional districts in the nation will be in New Jersey, including the Fifth District. The hard-working families of New Jersey have been punished with drastically high taxes for far too long. This must be stopped."
"Since my earliest days in Congress, I've been fighting to protect taxpayers from the oppressive AMT with my AMT Middle Class Fairness Act of 2007, which indexes the AMT to inflation and allows a deduction for state and local taxes. I will continue to fight for legislation like this and the Taxpayer Choice Act.
They are commonsense approaches to providing fair and significant tax relief to middle class, working Americans."
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