December 27,2007

Grassley reacts to IRS announcement on filing season expectations due to late AMT patch

Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance, issued the comment below about the announcement made today by the Internal Revenue Service regarding the upcoming filing season and the affect on taxpayers of the late enactment of the Alternative Minimum Tax “patch.”

Earlier this month, Senator Grassley asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to analyze the upcoming tax filing season impact of the Democratic-led Congress’ failure to enact timely relief during the 2007 session from the Alternative Minimum Tax. The IRS warned during the fall of serious problems for taxpayers, compounded as the delay worsened. Grassley himself delivered 13 speeches during the year about the Alternative Minimum Tax, addressing the fact that the tax was never intended as a source of revenue for the federal government from middle-income taxpayers and the consequences of delayed Congressional action on temporary and permanent relief from the tax. Those speeches are posted with the Grassley press releases at http://finance.senate.gov.

Comment from Senator Grassley:

“The IRS is doing its best to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear Congressional leaders gave taxpayers when they needlessly delayed passage of the AMT patch. The IRS was handed damage control duty after House Democrats pointlessly denied the inevitable from December 6 through December 19. For the benefit of members making tax policy next year, I look forward to receiving an accounting from the Government Accountability Office as to the consequences of fooling around with the filing season.”

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