Coalition for Tax Fairness and ReformAMT Praise President for Signing Legislation Providing Relief for Victims of the AMT Treatment of Incentive Stock Options.

Iowa Family Attends Signing Ceremony on Behalf of American Families Affected

WASHINGTON -- The Coalition for Tax Fairness (CTF) and ReformAMT, organizations working to address the Incentive Stock Option Alternative Minimum Tax (ISO AMT) crisis, are grateful to the President for signing legislation that takes a significant first step toward providing relief for many workers suffering from unintended, severely disproportional AMT tax burdens. H.R. 3385 - the basis for the legislation - was sponsored by Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX) with lead cosponsor Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA) and co-sponsored by 60 other bipartisan Representatives, including 15 Ways and Means Members. H.R. 3385 addressed the fair return of ISO AMT tax prepayments that have unintentionally become what Representative Johnson has termed, "interest-free loans to the government."

ISO AMT victims - employees of small and large companies across America - were, due to an unintended flaw in the tax code, forced to pay taxes up to and exceeding 300 percent of their annual salaries, based on phantom "income" they never received. The legislation, passed by the 109th Congress in the early morning hours on the last day in Session and signed by the President today, provides relief to many of these families by accelerating the refund of stranded ISO AMT overpayment credits that under current law would not be returned within the taxpayer's lifetime. The legislation lays an important foundation for resolving the ISO AMT crisis and addresses a severe inequity within the tax code. Two important steps remain: addressing on-going liability, interest and penalties being assessed on tens of thousands of ISO AMT victims across the country, and extending the relief to all families regardless of income bracket.

"The Coalition for Tax Fairness commends the President for signing this important legislation that will bring hope and relief to hundreds of thousands of American families hit unfairly by ISO AMT tax," stated Tim Carlson, President of the Coalition for Tax Fairness. "These families have been struggling for almost seven years under crushing disproportional tax burdens, and this legislation brings a ray of hope and path to recovery during this Holiday Season."

Ron and June Speltz from Cedar Rapids, Iowa - long-time members of ReformAMT and CTF - were invited by the White House to attend the signing ceremony. The Speltz family was severely impacted by ISO AMT, when the Cedar Rapids company for which Ron works filed for bankruptcy in 2001. "It is a very special honor to be asked to attend this ceremony on behalf of families in Iowa and across America who have been trapped by this unfair tax," said June Speltz. "The passage and signing of this legislation restores our faith that our system of government works, and that common people being wronged by the unintended consequences of a law, can have their voice heard on Capitol Hill," added Ron Speltz.

More crucial work remains to be done. The final ISO AMT Relief was modified from the strongly bi-partisan supported House Version that was sponsored by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) with lead Democratic cosponsor Richard Neal (D-MA), by adding income phase-outs to the relief. "No family can afford to pay - nor is it fair to demand from them - taxes on income they have never received," stated Jeff Chou, Co-founder, ReformAMT. "In addition, there are many families who are burdened by outstanding AMT liabilities resulting from the exercise of their incentive stock options as well as mounting penalties and interest. We are hopeful that these issues will also be dealt with fairly and expeditiously so that families left out of today's legislative relief can get back on their feet again."

Also, the issue of on-going liability, interest and penalties still needs to be addressed for those that faced such large ISO AMT tax bills that they couldn't pay, and have been struggling with IRS offers in compromise these last six years. "Many families, like the Speltzes, were charged so much ISO AMT tax on phantom income that it swamped their ability to pay with current assets and actual income," explained Tim Carlson. "We hope the IRS takes this opportunity to reconsider its position on ISO AMT offers in compromise, and heeds Congress' clear signal that those trapped by ISO AMT should no longer be forced to continue to suffer from the unintended consequences of this law, but should be freed to fairly and quickly move on with their lives."

About the Coalition for Tax Fairness

The Coalition for Tax Fairness (CTF) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that is supporting a legislative initiative to fix the current Incentive Stock Option Alternative Minimum Tax (ISO AMT) crisis. This growing problem was brought on by outdated laws unfairly affecting an unprecedented number of citizens, resulting in extremely disproportional taxes based on income that will never be received. CTF is working together with individuals and organizations such as ReformAMT, through education, legislative initiatives, and grassroots efforts to help reform the ISO AMT tax law and alleviate this catastrophic situation. CTF was founded by ISO AMT victims and is managed by a group of national volunteers. For more information, visit www.fair-iso.org.

About ReformAMT

About ReformAMT - ReformAMT is a non-partisan, grass roots organization focused on a broad legislative remedy to correct a flaw in the Alternative Minimum Tax's (AMT) antiquated treatment of Incentive Stock Options (ISOs). This widespread issue has financially devastated taxpayers who, under the current law, must pay taxes on phantom income they have never received. Founded in 2001, ReformAMT has grown to include thousands of members in 48 states & 297 Congressional districts. ReformAMT has been at the forefront of educating corporations, tax professionals, trade associations and lawmakers about the AMT's negative impact on taxpayers who exercise incentive stock options and continues to work closely with these groups as well as organizations such as the Coalition for Tax Fairness to achieve relief for taxpayers. For more information, please visit www.reformamt.org.