House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, didn't mince words when asked on Wednesday whether the final tax reform package would include elimination of both the estate (death) tax and the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
When asked by Newsmax he replied: “Yes.”
Brady spoke to reporters at a Washington D.C., breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
Advocates of abolishing both taxes immediately voiced their confidence in the chairman of the tax-writing panel. “Kevin Brady is a man of his word,” said James L. Martin, head of the Sixty Plus seniors association. “We will repeal the death tax thanks in large part to his 24/7 leadership on this issue.”
Former Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., who introduced AMT tax-repeal legislation a decade ago, told me that Brady’s blessings “shows the strong commitment of the Republican leadership to finally getting rid of this pernicious tax. Both the AMT and the death tax are now playing a role they were never intended for when they first became law. Instead, they are a source of complexity and slow growth.”
English added that Brady’s endorsement shows “the strong leadership of the Republican leadership [in the House] to genuine tax reform and not just cutting taxes that can be raised later.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.