TX SEN: Cornyn Votes Against Tax Relief For Middle Class

Today, U.S. Senator John Cornyn voted against legislation that would have provided tax relief for nearly two million middle class families in Texas.

The legislation would have prevented about $1.5 million Texans from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax. The legislation Cornyn voted against included tax credits for college tuition, tax relief for members of the armed forces, and tax deductions for school teachers buying supplies for their classrooms out of their own pockets.

State Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston), who is running against Cornyn, decried Cornyn’s vote.

“Once again, this demonstrates that John Cornyn is out of touch with regular Texans and Texas values,” said State Representative Rick Noriega, who on Monday officially filed as a candidate for Senator Cornyn’s seat.

At this point, some background on the AMT is necessary. It was introduced by the Tax Reform Act of 1969. It was intended to target a very small amount of high-income households that had been eligible for a large number of tax benefits and ended up, quite often, owing little or no income tax.

However, because the Alternative Minimum Tax isn’t indexed to inflation, a large number of middle-class taxpayers have found themselves caught paying a tax initially intended for the very wealthy.

The Internal Revenue Service’s own National Taxpayer Advocate’s report called the AMT the single most serious problem with the tax code. The AMT penalizes taxpayers for having children and worse.

Cornyn, essentially, voted against stopping a growing number of taxpayers from becoming liable for the AMT. By 2010, the IRS estimates that one in five taxpayers will have AMT liability.

More on what Cornyn’s vote today meant:

Cornyn Voted Against Providing AMT Relief to Over 1.5 Million TX Families. The bill Cornyn blocked today would extend for one year relief for families that would be impacted by the alternative minimum tax. This relief would benefit 23 million American families, including 1,532,300 in Texas. [Citizens for Tax Justice, 11/15/07]

Cornyn Voted Against Extending Tuition Tax Credit That Benefits Over 249,000 TX Students and Families. The bill Cornyn blocked today would extend for one year a federal higher education tuition tax credit that allows lower- and middle-class families paying for college to deduct up to $4,000. In 2003, 3.6 million Americans benefited from this tax cut, including 249,008 in Texas. [Democratic Policy Committee, 9/26/06]

Cornyn Voted Against Extending Deduction for Teachers’ Out of Pocket Expenses That Benefits Over 264,000 TX Educators. The bill Cornyn blocked today would extend for one year a federal provision that allows school teachers to deduct up to $250 a year for money that they spend out of their own pockets to buy supplies for their classrooms. In 2003, 3.3 million Americans benefited from this tax cut, including 264,979 in Texas. [Democratic Policy Committee, 9/26/06]

Technorati Tags Alternative Minimum Tax, John Cornyn, Rick Noriega

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