As some Fool (Peter?) pointed out some time ago, with a little tweak here and there AMT is that "flat tax" I hear is all the rage:

I don't think I was the first one to point out AMT's similarity to the flat tax pundits seem to want. But I do repeat it when necessary.

Sadly, I've lived through too many tax law changes to believe that Lucy, a/k/a Congress, is really going to hold that simplification football this time.

Heck - it's in their best interests NOT to fix AMT. By leaving AMT alone, they can pander to special interests left and right, pretending to give out tax cuts like candy. But the little man behid the curtain known as AMT just takes those tax cuts back, and keeps the overall budget from getting worse than it already is.

--Peter <== has only had one interaction with the Taxpayer's Advocate in his area, and it was also a good one.