2014: Schweikert Voted To Allow Bonus Depreciation Against The Alternative Minimum Tax. In July 2014, Schweikert voted for , according to Congressional Quarterly, the "bill that would make permanent the 50 percent bonus depreciation rules for businesses that place new property in service in a tax year. It would allow businesses to deduct from their taxes 50 percent of the adjusted basis of the value of that qualified property, in addition to amounts that they could otherwise claim under depreciation rules. It would allow bonus depreciation against both the regular tax system and the alternative minimum tax. It also would adjust for inflation the formula for depreciating certain passenger automobiles and would make permanent the special rule for the allocation of bonus depreciation to a long-term contract." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 258 to 160. [House Vote 404, 7/11/14; Congressional Quarterly, 7/11/14; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4718]
2017: Schweikert Voted For The House GOP's 2017 Tax Reform Plan Which Significantly Cut Taxes For The Rich And Corporations And Repealed The Alternative Minimum Tax. In November 2017, Schweikert voted for reconciliation legislation which significantly altered the federal tax code. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The bill substantially restructures the U.S. tax code to simplify the code and reduce taxes on individuals, corporations and small businesses. For individuals, it consolidates the current seven tax brackets down to four and eliminates or restricts many tax credits and deductions, including by eliminating the deduction for state and local income taxes and limiting the deduction for property taxes to $10,000 and the interest deduction for a home mortgage to the first $500,000 worth of a loan. [...] On the business side, it reduces the corporate tax from 35% to 20% and establishes a 'territorial' tax system that would exempt most income derived overseas from U.S. corporate taxation. It allows businesses to immediately expense 100% of the cost of assets acquired and placed into service, and for small businesses it raises the Section 179 expensing limit to $5 million for five years. It also establishes a 25% rate for a portion of pass-through business income that would otherwise have to be paid at the ordinary individual tax level, and for small businesses where an individual would receive less than $150,000 in pass-through income it taxes the first $75,000 of that income at a 9% rate." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 227 to 205. President Trump later signed an amended version of the bill into law. [House Vote 637, 11/16/17; Congressional Quarterly, 11/15/17; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
The Bill Repealed The AMT. According to the Washington Post, "The mega-wealthy also would get to keep charitable deductions, a popular way that lowers their tax bills, and they no longer would have to pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT), a safeguard against excessive tax dodging that's been in place since 1969." [Washington Post, 11/16/17]
Repealing The AMT Could Save Trump $31 Million. According to the New York Times, "The estimate of Mr. Trump's savings is based in part on information from his 2005 federal tax return. The analysis compares what his tax burden would be under current law with what it would be under the proposal. [...] The decades-old alternative minimum tax is meant to prevent America's wealthiest from using deductions to pay very low or no federal income tax. In 2005, it accounted for about 80 percent of Mr. Trump's overall income tax payment. His plan to repeal the tax would save him $31.3 million." [New York Times, 9/28/17]
2014: Schweikert Voted To Repeal The Alternative Minimum Tax. In April 2014, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted for the "concurrent resolution that would provide for $2.842 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2015, not including off-budget accounts. [...] It would assume the enactment of legislation to consolidate the current seven individual tax brackets into two, allowing for the reduction of the top individual rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent and the corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and call for repeal of the alternative minimum tax." The House adopted the budget resolution by a vote of 219 to 205, but the Senate did not. [House Vote 177, 4/10/14; Congressional Quarterly, 4/10/14; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 96]
2013: Schweikert Voted For Repealing The Alternative Minimum Tax As Part Of The FY 2014 Ryan Budget. In March 2013, Schweikert voted for repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, as part of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposed budget resolution covering fiscal years 2014 to 2023. According to the House Budget Committee, the budget would "Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax." The resolution passed the House by a vote of 221 to 207, but died in the Senate. [House Vote 88, 3/21/13; House Budget Committee, 3/12/13; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 25]
Elimination Of The AMT Would Have Resulted In $25.6 Billion Less Revenue Than Current Law in 2013. According to the Tax Policy Center, the Alternative Minimum Tax under current law would raise $25.6 billion 2013. [Tax Policy Center, 8/26/13]
The AMT Required Individuals And Corporations To Pay A Minimum Amount Of Tax Regardless Of Their Credits And Deductions. According to the IRS, "Enacted by Congress in 1969, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) attempts to ensure that individuals and corporations that benefit from certain exclusions, deductions, or credits pay at least a minimum amount of tax." According to USA Today, "The idea behind the AMT tax was to prevent people with very high incomes from using special tax benefits to pay little or no tax." [IRS, 2/5/13; USA Today, 3/31/13]