What Happened to the Alternative Minimum Tax?
The corporate Alternative Minimum Tax was adopted in 1986 to reduce these discrepancies and make sure that every company with substantial profits pays some significant tax. But legislation adopted in 1993 and 1997 has left the alternative corporate tax only a shell of its former self. U.S. Profits & Taxes, 1996-98 by Industry for 250 Major Corporations ($-million) Three-Year Totals Tax Rates by Year Industry Profits Tax Rate Tax Breaks Breaks cut taxes by 1998 1997 1996 Petroleum & pipelines $ 32,875 $ 4,050 12.3% $ 7,456 65% 5.7% 11.5% 17.2% Electronics, electrical equipment 39,997 5,259 13.1% 8,739 62% 11.8% 13.7% 14.2% Forest and paper products 3,596 500 13.9% 759 60% 13.6% 11.1% 16.2% Transportation 19,421 2,717 14.0% 4,080 60% 10.8% 14.2% 17.5% Motor vehicles and parts 32,566 5,581 17.1% 5,817 51% 14.5% 26.8% 5.4% Pharmaceuticals 60,876 11,312 18.6% 9,994 47% 16.2% 21.5% 18.5% Miscellaneous services 15,581 3,189 20.5% 2,264 42% 14.0% 26.7% 20.8% Chemicals 28,453 5,921 20.8% 4,038
