Peter Roskam Acts to Protect Offshore Tax Havens for the Rich

Peter Roskam is not telling you the truth.

Today (December 19th), Roskam published on his House web site a brief news item announcing “ROSKAM PROTECTS 70,000 IL-6 RESIDENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX”. This was in regard to the Democratic plan to relieve middle class taxpayers of liability for the Alternative Minimum Tax beginning in the coming tax season.

What Roskam is not telling you is that he and his Republican colleagues absolutely refused to vote for the measure until provisions were removed from the bill that would have closed loopholes that allow wealthy individuals to escape paying taxes by keeping assets offshore and allow some investment fund managers and venture capitalists to pay much lower tax rates than ordinary taxpayers.

Let me say that again. Roskam and his Republican colleagues, following the lead of George Bush, absolutely refused to take action to help middle class taxpayers unless loopholes for the rich were preserved.

Democrats, unable to get enough votes to override a Presidential veto due to Republican opposition, had to compromise to ensure that average taxpayers would not face huge new tax bills. The Democrats had preferred a fiscally responsible alternative that would have replaced the revenue lost from a tax cut for the middle class by ensuring that wealthy persons be required to pay their fair share of taxes. Roskam would not agree to that option, demanding instead that the tax cut be instead allowed to increase the budget deficit and the national debt.

Now, to further distort the truth, Roskam is following the Roadblock Republicans game plan of obstruction and accusation, blaming the delay caused by his own refusal to help on the Democrats. Well the people of Illinois are too smart to believe that hogwash.

This is another clear example of Roskam’s determination to use his office for the benefit of the rich and powerful at the expense of the rest of us. And that is the reason that Peter Roskam will not be reelected in 2008.

Unfortunately, because Roskam and other Republicans repeatedly voted against the Democratic plan to fix the AMT, the IRS has not had enough time to adjust its programming and it is likely that many taxpayers will experience a significant delay in receiving their tax refunds in 2008.

But like other Congressmen, Roskam maintains a casework staff to help citizens with issues such as this. On his web site he explains: “One of my most important responsibilities as your Representative in Congress is to help you with federal problems. While I cannot override the decisions made by a federal agency, I can often intervene on a person’s behalf to answer questions, find solutions, or just cut through the red tape.” So taxpayers in Roskam’s district who do experience delays in receiving their refunds may wish to contact his office for assistance. They can be reached in Bloomingdale at (630) 893-9670 or in Washington at (202) 225-4561.