WASHINGTON – On Wednesday night, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) voted to bring immediate tax relief to 23 million American families who would otherwise pay higher taxes under the alternative minimum tax (AMT), including 42,000 families in California’s 1st Congressional District. The AMT Relief Act (H.R. 4351) is completely paid for, meaning the tax relief would not add to our national debt.

“This Administration has presided over seven years of fiscal mismanagement: spending has skyrocketed, entitlements have expanded and taxes have been cut – without any regard to the bottom line,” said Congressman Thompson. “As a result, our budgets haven’t balanced, our surpluses turned into deficits, our national debt exploded and our borrowing from other countries more than doubled. If there was ever a time when fiscal discipline was paramount, it is today.”

This bill would extend the one-year AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increase the AMT exemption to $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for single filers, ensuring that no additional taxpayers are liable for the AMT this year.

“The AMT was created to fairly tax multi-millionaires, not burden middle-class families,” said Thompson. “Congress is committed to making sure millions of Americans do not end up with a tax hike next year.”

In addition to a temporary relief from the AMT, the bill also provides additional tax cuts to an estimated 12 million families by enhancing the child tax credit. The bill lowers the income eligibility floor to $8,500.

“We pay for this tax relief by closing loopholes that allow tax avoidance for wealthy folks who move their money off-shore,” added Thompson. “And we take what we gain from closing that loophole to pay for middle-class tax relief.”

Although the end of the year is approaching, Congressional leaders have been in constant communication with the IRS to ensure that tax forms will account for the AMT relief and the 2007 filing season is as seamless as possible.

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