by David Freddoso, National Review: Thank House Democrats when your tax refund is late. A deadline looms today, and it will not be met. Unless Congress fixes the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), the IRS will have no choice but to print next year’s tax forms based on current law, which would force 25 million taxpayers to pay, on average, an unexpected, additional $2,000 in taxes. If the AMT is fixed after today’s deadline, the Treasury Department announced in a letter to Congress, then the delay in printing proper IRS forms will create confusion for millions of taxpayers this spring and delay tens of millions of taxpayers’ refund checks by up to two and a half months. Democrats are the ones responsible for this — for creating the tax in the first place, for raising it, and for failing to fix it in time. Most responsible of all for the current mess, and for Congress’s failure to act, is House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY). . . .Everyone expects the AMT to be fixed this year for the same reason it always has been fixed in the past — failure to do it could cause a taxpayer rebellion. If, as appears likely, Congress fails to pass a real AMT fix before today’s deadline, it will probably be fixed eventually. But many taxpayers will end up with obsolete tax forms (12 different forms are affected by the AMT), creating a huge snag for the IRS. An astounding $75 billion in tax refunds to as many as 50 million people could be delayed for up to ten weeks. That’s great news if you’re a government bean-counter, because you’re essentially getting an interest-free loan of $75 billion from American taxpayers. I t’s very bad news, though, if you are a taxpayer trying to pay your energy bills, your child’s tuition, or your overpriced mortgage. It might also be bad news if you are a Democratic politician who helped create the Great Tax Confusion of 2008. . . . [Read More] See Also Judgment Day
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