Coalition for Tax Fairness (CTF) Launches Phase 2 Effort to Extend Relief to all Victims of the AMT Treatment of Incentive Stock Options (ISO).

CTF Grateful for First Major Step Last Year; Current Effort Builds on Foundation to Complete Relief for all Families Suffering from Tax Imposed on Phantom Income 

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Coalition for Tax Fairness (CTF), an organization working to resolve the Incentive Stock Option Alternative Minimum Tax (ISO AMT) crisis, today announced its formalized launch of the ISO AMT Phase 2 relief effort, with a goal to extend relief to all families and employees and provide relief to those still in danger of losing their homes and retirement accounts. Many families and workers continue to suffer from huge taxes imposed on phantom income. The Coalition is grateful to Congress and the many corporate, organizational and grassroots supporters of the ISO AMT relief phase 1 legislation that passed in December of last year. That 2006 legislation, based on the leadership of Representatives Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Richard Neal (D-MA) and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), provided important and much-needed partial relief to many families across the country and laid the groundwork for completing the relief needed for tens of thousands of Americans.

The Coalition for Tax Fairness is supporting phase 2 legislation to alleviate the remaining unfair ISO AMT tax burdens. The goal of this legislation is to:

* Extend relief to all families and employees, including those living and working in high-cost living regions of the country.

* Ensure that all prepayment credits are refunded as expeditiously as possible, to enable victims of ISO AMT to resolve their outstanding debts and begin to start over again as soon as possible.

* Provide relief to victims whose ISO AMT taxes were so grossly disproportional that they are still struggling and are in danger of losing their homes and retirement accounts.

The AMT tax on ISOs impacted many employees of small and large companies, often resulting in taxes up to and exceeding 300-400 percent of these employees' annual salaries. Taxpayers were required to pay tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in "prepayment" taxes on income they never received. These prepayments became essentially useless tax "credits", which were returned so slowly (the maximum amount being $3,000 per year) that most ISO AMT victims would never recover their credits in their lifetime. The relief legislation passed last year will return the majority of those stranded credits to many families over the next five years, helping them to begin the recovery process. The successful passing of Phase 2 legislation will restore a fair ISO AMT taxation regime and allow employees and families nationwide to complete the recovery process.

"The Coalition is very grateful to those Members of Congress that championed and supported the first critically important phase of ISO AMT relief, including Reps. Johnson and Neal and the 60 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and Senators Grassley and Baucus and many other Senators," stated Tim Carlson, President of the Coalition for Tax Fairness. "The 2006 legislation provided a bright ray of hope to families who had been struggling for seven years. CTF is encouraged that this important groundwork will be the foundation for finally resolving this severe and unintended injustice for all American families and workers in 2007."

The Coalition phase 1 relief effort benefited from strong support from the nationwide grassroots organization ReformAMT, as well as companies - including Intel, and organizations - including TechNet, the American Benefits Council, and the California Tax Bar Executive Committee. All the supporters of phase 1 relief also support the phase 2 relief effort, and are joined by new supporters.

"TechNet was honored to be a part of the coalition that worked with Congress to bring relief to tens of thousands of workers impacted by the AMT's treatment of incentive stock options, many of whom are working in the high tech industry," said Lezlee Westine, CEO of TechNet. "We look forward to working with the coalition and Congressional leadership to extend this much-needed relief to all families in key regions where employees were hit particularly hard, including Silicon Valley, Northern Virginia, Massachusetts and the Maryland high tech corridor."

"Congress's efforts last year brought significant relief to many Intel employees," said Jim Jarrett, Intel VP of Global Public Policy. "Intel is thankful to Congress for these efforts, and are hopeful that the remaining relief needed by our employees can be passed as soon as possible, freeing up Intel workers and other workers across the country from unfair tax burdens that are needlessly stressing their lives and undermining their full productivity."

About the Coalition for Tax Fairness

The Coalition for Tax Fairness (CTF) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization working to restore a just and fair taxation regime to workers and families suffering from devastating disproportional tax burdens caused by the AMT treatment of incentive stock options. This problem was brought on by outdated laws that unintentionally affected tens of thousands of employees and their families, resulting in extremely high taxes on income that was never received. CTF is seeking to build on the foundation of relief legislation that passed in 2006 in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act, to extend that relief to all families and provide complete relief to those affected. CTF is working together with individuals and organizations such as the grassroots organization ReformAMT, www.reformamt.org. Through a combination of education, legislation and grassroots efforts, CTF is raising awareness about the remaining work needed to remedy this situation, and is proposing a principled legislative approach that ensures tax equity and fairness. CTF was founded by people affected by ISO AMT and is managed by a group of national volunteers. For more information, visit www.fair-iso.org.

About TechNet

TechNet is the national, bipartisan network of CEOs that promotes the growth of technology industries and the economy by building long-term relationships between technology leaders and policymakers and by advocating a targeted policy agenda. TechNet's members represent more than one million employees in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, e-commerce and finance. TechNet has offices in Washington, DC, Palo Alto, Seattle, Boston, Austin, and Orange County (California). Web address: www.technet.org.