The Alternative Minimum Tax - Red vs. Blue

Ken O’Brien

NEWS UPDATES Dec. 7 -
Tax filing delay looms if no fix for minimum tax: IRS
IRS Chief Warns Again About AMT Hit

If you aren't familiar with the alternative minimum tax - commonly known by its initials, AMT – you might want to get acquainted with it. Congress created the AMT back in 1969 to make sure that certain high-income citizens couldn't skip out on paying taxes altogether by gaming the system. So under the present regime, you pay either your regular taxes or the AMT (which is essentially a flat rate that eliminates most deductions), whichever is higher. A definite hassle (because you have to calculate your taxes twice), but at least it sounds fair, right? 

Romney: Obama Voters Are Freeloaders-Video

From Mother Jones

UPDATE: 9/18 – The full video (40 minutes) of Mitt Romney’s Florida fundraiser speech is available onYouTube.

UPDATE: 9/18 The American Conservative online, of all people, just released a map prepared by the conservative Tax Foundation showing which states have the highest proportion of residents that pay no Federal income taxes. I bet it will come as a surprise to Barack Obama when he finds out from where Mitt Romney says Democratic support is coming, (Top ten states in ratio of non-Federal-income-tax paying residents are in red. The lowest ten are in blue.)

“When he doesn't know a camera's rolling, the GOP candidate shows his disdain for half of America.”

During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied: