John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to immediately schedule a vote on legislation to protect 23 million taxpayers from unnecessarily paying the alternative minimum tax (AMT) next year. Tonight, the Senate passed a clean AMT patch, without permanently raising taxes, by a strong bipartisan vote of 88-5.

An estimated 58,905 taxpayers in the 8^th District and more than 1 million total taxpayers in the Buckeye State could get hit with the AMT unless the U.S. House also passes a clean patch. Boehner released the following statement:

“Only the House Democratic leadership stands in the way of protecting 23 million taxpayers from a massive tax hike. This Congress has dragged its feet long enough, and it’s time for Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer to do the right thing and bring this bill to the House floor for a vote next week. The Majority’s failure to act in a timely manner on a clean AMT fix, which will cause some 50 million taxpayers to face a substantial delay in receiving their tax refunds next year, is one of countless low points for this Congress. The House should seize this opportunity to protect middle-class taxpayers by sending the Senate-passed bill to the President as soon as possible.”

NOTE: The alternative minimum tax was established in the 1960s to ensure the nation’s wealthiest earners paid an income tax. Because the thresholds of the tax were not indexed to inflation, however, more taxpayers – including millions of middle class earners – risk paying the tax than originally intended. In 1999, the Republican-led Congress sent former President Bill Clinton the Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act that would have permanently repealed the AMT by Dec. 31, 2007. President Clinton vetoed the bill.

On October 23, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson confirmed that continued delays in enacting an AMT patch could cause months-long delays of up to $75 billion in tax refunds for 50 million taxpayers (25 million that are subject to the AMT without a patch and 25 million more who use other deductions).

Boehner represents Ohio’s 8^th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.

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