WHAT’S THE BUZZ – TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

* While I was in Atlantic City the Senate finally approved a one-year AMT fix without offsets by a vote of 88-5, but not until after Senate Republicans rejected a House version (HR 3996) that was laden with tax loophole closers as a means of offsetting the cost. It will face opposition in the House, as many Democrats was to offset the cost of the AMT patch. The bill does not include any other extenders.

A note to Len Berman who wrote in the Tax Policy Center TAXVOX blog, “Another tax cut for the rich. More than 85 percent of the benefit will go to those earning over $100,000” – in New Jersey a family earning gross wages of $100,000 is not considered rich!

* The internet’s BAG LADY offers an interesting comment on the dreaded AMT in her post “Is Anyone Else Confused and Annoyed by the Alternative Minimum Tax?!” -

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“If the alternative minimum tax never gets indexed for inflation, eventually everyone will qualify, and it will no longer be ‘alternative’ and nobody can say that it’s a tax for the rich because everyone will be paying it. Then the IRS can just print one form again and completely abolish the original tax system!”

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* Roni Deutch’s TAX HELP BLOG provides the “Tax Views of Top 10 Presidential Candidates”. Her post is especially helpful as it also lists the tax-related voting record of those candidates who currently serve/have served in Congress.

* Trish McIntire of OUR TAXING TIMES reminds us that you get what you pay for in her post on “Using a Volunteer Preparer”. Trish points out “According to the Kiplinger Tax Letter, Treasury Inspectors found errors in 56% of the volunteer returns they examined. While the survey was small, the errors found in the several thousand returns they audited have convinced the IRS to expand their review.”

TTFN