House spares 15m from alternative minimum tax

The US House of Representatives passed a measure that would spare 15 million households from a $30 billion alternative minimum tax increase next year.

The 414-4 vote would renew a temporary law exempting the first $58,000 of a married couple's income from the minimum tax. House Republicans scheduled the vote a day before acting on a $56.6 billion budget measure that extends the 15 percent rate on dividends and most capital gains.

''Today, in a bipartisan manner, Congress voted to protect 15.4 million Americans from a stealth tax," Representative Tom Reynolds, the New York Republican who sponsored the legislation, said yesterday. The four votes against the legislation were cast by Democrats; 14 members didn't vote.

The House also voted on a separate tax measure to approve a new ''Gulf Opportunity Zone" that includes tax breaks to help rebuilding in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including new bond authority and incentives to rebuild houses.

Lawmakers also approved a measure that renews five expiring tax laws, including one that allows troops in combat to take advantage of the earned income tax credit, a benefit for the working poor.

Who it affects

Failing to renew the temporary law would raise taxes next year for 87 percent of Americans who earn $200,000 to $500,000.

Only about 30 percent of people making more than $1 million would be affected, according to the Tax Policy Center, because most already pay at rates more than those of the alternative minimum tax.