NFIB

This week, we sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (Montana) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (Iowa), urging them to take quick action on a one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax. We asked them to consider that any further delays in enacting a patch could cause delays for many early filers in receiving their tax returns.

Though the House recently passed a crucial patch to prevent the AMT from hitting even more taxpayers this year, the Senate has been locked in a stalemate over the bill's language since prior to Thanksgiving. The Senate is expected to vote before Christmas on the legislation, H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007.

According to the IRS Oversight Board, delaying the tax filing season start to Jan. 28 would result in $17 billion in delayed refunds, and a delayed start date of Feb. 18 would result in $87 billion in delayed refunds. Small-business owners count on their refunds to put back into their business and help grow the U.S. economy, so a timely start of the filing season is critical.

We also asked the Senate not to offset the AMT patch with a tax increase, noting that "While providing relief for many of our members by patching the AMT is vital, paying for it with a tax increase is counterproductive."

The AMT was enacted 40 years ago as a way to prevent the country's wealthiest citizens from exploiting a loophole that allowed them to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, but the tax was never adjusted for inflation and now plagues many middle-class taxpayers and small-business owners. It is estimated that if the tax is not repealed, the number of taxpayers affected will increase from approximately 1.8 million in 2001 to more than 41 million in 2013.