Emanuel wants AMT reform

WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., called on Republicans to join Democrats in reforming the so-called Parent Penalty in the federal tax code.

Emanuel used next week's deadline for filing federal tax forms to argue for the reformation of the Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT was designed to keep high-income earners from sidestepping taxes.

But the AMT instead is beginning to hit people with lower incomes, especially those with children. Emanuel, speaking during the Democrats' Saturday radio address, claimed "middle-class families making between $75,000 and $100,000 are now more likely to pay the tax than those making more than $1 million."

Emanuel said Democrats want to reform the tax code, an issue that has been at the top of the Bush administration agenda for several years. But Emanuel said all the Republicans have done is provide tax cuts for the wealthy.

"Reforming the Parent Penalty is the first step in making the tax code simpler and fairer," Emanuel said. "As you file your taxes this year, let your member of Congress know that this broken system must change."