Saturday, December 15, 2007  The AMT and the Lessons of Taxation
and Class Warfare  In 1969, in order to make sure that about 100
fat cats paid their fair share Congress created the Alternative
Minimum Tax...  In August 1969 as he was preparing the next
year's budget Barr warned that the country faced a taxpayers'
revolt. He explained, according to the Washington Post, that in
1967 there were a total of 155 individuals with incomes over
$200,000 who did not pay any federal income taxes; twenty of
them were millionaires. These individuals successfully used all
tax loopholes available to legally evade paying taxes. The
revelation attracted wide media attention and led to public
shock. As he presented the next annual budget, published in the
final weeks of his administration, President Johnson indicated
that the problem needed to be addressed...  Unfortunately what
started as a tax against fat cats has now begun to affect a
large majority of Americans.  For more than three decades, the
individual income tax has