House Ways and Means Committee chair Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) has long and loudly said that he "wants to "rearrange" the Bush tax cuts, shifting tax relief from the wealthiest beneficiaries to the middle-class victims of the AMT. Rangel reminds us frequently that he's 76 (remember, green bananas?) and serious-minded about solving the AMT promblem promptly and simply -- sans Rube Goldberg extranea.

The Tax Policy Center has just issued research results and recommendations regarding repeal of the AMT that merit serious attention. As the New York Times reports today in Group Offers a Simple Fix for Alternative Minimum Tax, TPC's proposal features a reversion back to pre-Bush earned and investment tax rates on couples earning over $200,000 and singles earning half that.

The first tentative steps were taken today toward bipartisan, if not quite bicameral, discussion of AMT reform. An initial meeting was held among members of the House Ways and Means Committee -- "an information session, not a strategy session," according to Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY). That's more encouraging language than committee ranking Republcan Jim McCreary's (R-LA) take yesterday on the Democratics' draft AMT reform package: "Scary."

Did you know that families that make less than $11,750 are not eligible for the child tax credit? That workers who aren't raising children get only a marginal Earned Income Tax Credit? These tax credits do much to alleviate poverty and strengthen the middle class, but some of their aspects are unfair. Now the ECAP coalition wants to take out these inequities to help more people and families. We're going to send this letter to Congress urging action soon. It's easy to sign on your organization to this letter. Just go to this website and do it online.