In 1726 Daniel Defoe wrote in The Political History of the Devil, “Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed.” The more familiar phrase was used by Benjamin Franklin writing in a 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, “In this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes.”

In 2010 Apollo Wealth Management offers the following addendum: “Equally as certain is an annual ‘AMT patch’ to put a BAND-AID over our broken tax code.”

Each year Congress tends to temporarily fix the AMT to prevent it from applying to ‘middle class’ taxpayers. In 2009 the fix came early – in 2010 it has yet to be provided as Congressional infighting and a crowded legislative calendar have prevented Congress from patching AMT until the current lame duck session.

Last week a bipartisan group of key Congressional committee chairmen headed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D – Michigan) and Finance Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R- Iowa) wrote to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman stating the agency should “take all steps necessary to plan for changes” to present law so that, in the aggregate, not one additional taxpayer faces higher taxes in 2010 due to AMT.

“As the leaders of the Congressional tax-writing committees, we want to assure you that Congress is working on legislative relief. We will work to craft the AMT provision so that, in the aggregate, not one additional taxpayer faces higher taxes in 2010 due to the onerous AMT. Such legislation will allow the personal credits against the AMT and the exemption amounts for 2010 to be set at $47,450 for individuals and $72,450 for married taxpayers filing jointly.”