Washington, Dec 12, 2007 - If you are planning on getting an early tax refund next year, you may have to wait up to three months. The failure by the new leadership in Congress to pass an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch will cause some 50 million taxpayers at best to face a substantial delay in receiving their tax refund next year. Worse, if a patch doesn’t pass at all, over 48,000 residents in our congressional district will be hit with a tax increase averaging $3,000.

“Families across Texas are gearing-up for the Christmas holidays. The last thing they need to hear right now is that their tax refund, which many are counting on to pay off Christmas credit card debt, has been delayed by three months,” Carter said.

The AMT was passed in 1969 and was directed at 155 very wealthy families who used deductions to avoid paying the federal income tax. The AMT disallows certain deductions and credits. It was not adjusted for inflation; as a result, over the years it has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers. More than 4 million were subject to it in the 2006 tax year, and without a fix, that number could soar to 25 million this year. More specifically, in the 31^st Congressional District, 3,476 people were subject to pay the AMT in 2005, but without a fix, that number will jump to 48,462.

Every year while Republicans controlled Congress, lawmakers passed an AMT patch to prevent this middle-income Americans from being hit with the AMT. Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that in order for tax forms to be printed to reflect an AMT patch, Congress needed to fix the problem before November 16. Nearly a month later, Congress has yet to act.

Democratic leadership introduced a bill today that proposes a fix for one year, but permanently raises taxes on millions of Americans. The same bill was introduced last month offering protections for 25 million Americans from a tax they never were supposed to pay in the first place-but only if Congress raises taxes by tens of billions of dollars at the same time. The President has already said he will veto this bill.

There is a solution out there. Last week, the Senate passed a clean AMT fix without raising taxes by a strong bipartisan vote of 88-5. However, House leadership won’t consider this proposal unless it includes a tax hike. Congress’ failure on the AMT will cause some 50 million taxpayers to face a substantial delay in receiving their tax refunds next year. By refusing to send the President a clean fix that he can sign-one supported by 88 Senators-the Majority is only making that delay even longer.

“I believe working Americans pay too much in taxes and support the permanent elimination of the AMT. This failure by Congress will hit hardest those families planning to use their refunds to make a down payment on a family vacation or pay down holiday credit card bills,” Carter continued. “A House vote on a clean AMT fix should have happened months ago, and the fact that the matter still has not been resolved represents a huge failure by Congress.”