House GOP Freshmen Push for Tax Extenders

Fifty House Republican freshmen on Thursday urged the House Ways and Means Committee to quickly extend dozens of expired or expiring tax breaks, some of which are municipal bond-related.

The freshmen sent a three-page letter to committee chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., and chairman of the subcommittee on select revenue measures Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio.

“While we may not agree on the merits of each and every extender, we are advocating for an appropriate and fiscally responsible transition period to prevent any negative economic impacts,” they wrote. 

Freshmen Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wisc., spearheaded the letter.

It’s unlikely Congress will take any action on extenders before the November election. The Senate Finance Committee approved a $205 billion extenders package before the August recess. However, Senate Republicans said Wednesday that there isn’t enough time to bring up an extenders package before the lame duck session.

One of the largest expired tax provisions is the patch for the alternative minimum tax. The AMT is a federal income tax that’s calculated separately from the regular federal income tax and is designed to prevent the wealthy from taking so many tax deductions and exclusions that they avoid paying taxes. One of the exclusions is tax-exempt interest from munis.

Congress routinely “patches” the AMT to increase the exemption levels so that it applies to fewer middle-income investors. The most recent AMT patch expired at the end of 2011.

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