Eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax as one of the first steps toward simplifying the US Tax Code.

The Alternative Minimum Tax was conceived as a mechanism to ensure that high income taxpayers would pay their fair share of taxes. Unfortunately, the concept has never worked as intended, unfairly penalizing a steadily increasing number of middle class, wage-earning taxpayers. Year-to-year, the AMT makes it difficult to predict the amount of income tax that will be owed, making it difficult or impossible for taxpayers to plan for the April 15 surprise. Eliminating this ill-conceived burden on millions of taxpayers will serve as an excellent step toward badly needed simplification of the US Tax Code. The President's current proposal to achieve tax fairness by raising tax rates on the wealthy is a viable option. The AMT is not.