Buffett Rule

Republicans seem at a loss as to how to respond to the President's call for an additional tax to previously taxed income that is passed on to investors in corporations.  While it's clearly double-taxation of the same dollar, and will encourage folks to invest in other more tax friendly instruments, you simply can't convey the down side of the BR in a sound-bite.  Unfortunately Republicans also don't have the organs needed to simply say "You already take too much from Americans and then waste it...see GSA for the latest proof of your ineptness.  You don't get another penny until you prove you're good stewards of what you already take from us."  So here's my recommendation for the Republicans....

Agree to an increase in the income tax paid by those with an AGI over $1,000,000 under the following conditions;

1.  We use the Alternative Minimum Tax as the mechanism for increasing the taxes these folks pay, after all, that's why we have the AMT in the first place - to ensure the 'super-rich' pay 'their fair share'.  Now one might be inclined to ask why dividends are excluded from the AMT in the first place - good question.  Look no farther than DC to understand how Congress uses the tax code to punish or reward different folks for different strokes.   Regardless, it's a lot easier to implement and explain if you simply include dividends in the AMT calculation.

2.  100% of the 'extra' revenue raised by including dividends in the AMT calculation *must* be used to pay down the debt.  It can't go to any other line in the budget but the one that says we have too much debt and need to reduce it.  So our financial credit rating for further details.

3.  Insist that the AMT, which was introduced in 1970(?), be adjusted for inflation and that it keep being adjusted for inflation.  In typical DC dishonesty, Congress implemented the AMT to catch an incredibly small number of tax filers who were 'cheating' the system...something like 155 filers or so.  However, Congress decide to not index the AMT level with inflation, thereby guaranteeing more and more Americans would be subject to the AMT as inflation naturally inflated income.  While adjustments have been made over the years to ease the hit on the non-super-rich, they've hardly made a dent in the number of Americans who are now ensnared by the AMT.  In 2008 almost 4,000,000 files paid the AMT...a tax that was originally intended to ensure that 155 filers who were apparently getting over on the system would 'pay their far share'.  Now where have we heard that BS line recently?