Tuesday, January 22, 2008

WELL I'LL BE DAMNED!

You could have knocked me over with a feather. It seems that THE WANDERING TAX PRO is actually read somewhere in the halls of Congress!
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I literally just received the following email, apparently a response to this morning’s post:
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Dear Mr. Flach,
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Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the AMT and I do appreciate hearing your views on this issue.
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You may be interested to know that the letter you received from me last week was a letter sent to over 7,000 individuals in the 13th District that have corresponded with me over the last year. I wanted to encourage my constituents to continue corresponding with me as it is helpful for me to know their concerns and understand their points of view.
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Please know that I did receive your letter regarding the AMT and below is a copy of the letter that I sent to you in response on Friday, January 18, 2008. You should be receiving this letter in the mail shortly. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views with me, and please continue to write me with any issues that may be of concern to you.
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Sincerely,
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M
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Albio Sires
Member of Congress
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Dear Mr. Flach,
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Thank you for contacting me regarding the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
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Please know that I understand your concerns about the Alternative Minimum Tax and its impact on the middle class. As you know, the AMT was enacted in 1969 after it was disclosed that approximately 155 wealthy families, some of whom were millionaires, did not pay any income taxes. The AMT was designed to ensure that the wealthiest families could not use exclusions, deductions or credits to avoid tax liability. Today, the AMT is beginning to reach middle income tax payers who were not originally intended to be subject to the tax.
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You may be pleased to know that I have supported changing the AMT's negative impacts on the middle class by voting for H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). H.R. 3996 would renew the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) "patch" for the 2007 filing year. This bill would extend the "patch" for one year and set exemptions at $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for individuals, which would prevent 23 million families from being hit with a tax increase due to the AMT. H.R. 3996 was signed into law by the president on December 26, 2007.
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Please know that I understand your concerns regarding our tax system and be assured I will keep your views in mind as Congress considers tax reforms in the upcoming year. Again, thank you for contacting me, and please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. You may also wish to access my website at
www.house.gov/sires to learn more about my legislative activities in Congress, visiting Washington, D.C., and a special section on constituent services.
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Please be advised that you may already be receiving my e-newsletter, however, it may be going into your email's spam box. If you are encountering this problem, you may need to remove this email from your spam box or you can view the e-newsletter by visiting my website.”
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It looks like members of Congress, or at least members of their staff, actually do read the letters we constituents send them. This is indeed encouraging!
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Thanks to Congressman Spires for his response.

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