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Alternative minimum tax
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The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a supplemental income tax imposed by the United States federal government required in addition to baseline income tax for certain individuals, corporations, estates, and trusts that have exemptions or special circumstances allowing for lower payments of standard income tax. AMT is imposed at a nearly flat rate on an adjusted amount of taxable income above a certain threshold (also known as exemption). This exemption is substantially higher than the exemption from regular income tax.
Regular taxable income is adjusted for certain items computed differently for AMT, such as depreciation and medical expenses. No deduction is allowed for state taxes or miscellaneous itemized deductions in computing AMT income. Taxpayers with incomes above the exemption whose regular Federal income tax is below the amount of AMT must pay the higher AMT amount.
A predecessor "minimum tax", enacted in 1969, imposed an additional tax on certain tax benefits for certain taxpayers. The present AMT was enacted in 1982 and limits tax benefits from a variety of deductions. On January 2, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which indexes to inflation the income thresholds for being subject to the tax.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 AMT basics
2 History
2.1 "Patches" to tax rates and exemptions
3 AMT details
3.1 Taxpayers and rates
3.2 Exemptions
3.3 Depreciation and other adjustments
3.4 Adjustments for individuals
3.5 Adjusted current earnings for corporations
3.6 Losses
3.7 Tax preferences
3.8 Credits
3.9 AMT credit against regular tax
3.10 Stock options
3.10.1 Stock options in non-public companies
4 Growth of the AMT
5 Opinions about AMT
5.1 Complexity
5.2 Taxpayer incomes
5.3 Avoiding AMT
5.4 Arguments against repealing the AMT
5.5 AMT reform
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
AMT basics[edit]
Each year a taxpayer must calculate and then pay the greater of an alternative minimum tax (AMT) or regular tax.[2] Effectively for high income earners who mitigate their tax position from the day-to-day income tax, an end of year consolidation of all taxable income is requested and submitted. This is then paid in arrears (from the normal payroll income tax) less any allowable deductions. For many taxpayers, the effective marginal tax rates are 0% (exemption), 26% (low bracket), 28% (high bracket), 32.5% (low bracket with exemption phase out), and 35% (high bracket with exemption phase out), with increasing taxable income as modified for AMT. As with regular federal income tax, rates and exemptions vary by filing status. The lower rate and the exemption are phased out above certain income levels at 25% of AMT income. A lower rate applies on capital gains (and qualifying dividends).[3]
Status Single Married Joint Married Separate Trust Corporation
Tax Rate: Low 26%* 26%* 26%* 26%* 20%*
Tax Rate: High 28%* 28%* 28%* 28%* 20%*
High Rate Starts (2012 and earlier) $175,000 $175,000 $87,500 $175,000 n/a
High Rate Starts (2013) $179,500 $179,500 $89,750 $179,500 n/a
Exemption in 2009 $46,700 $70,950 $35,475 $22,500 $40,000
Exemption in 2010 $47,450 $72,450 $36,225 $22,500 $40,000
Exemption in 2011 $48,450 $74,450 $37,225 $22,500 $40,000
Exemption in 2012 $50,600 $78,750 $39,375 $22,500 $40,000
Exemption in 2013 $51,900 $80,800 $40,400 $23,100 $40,000
Exemption phase-out starts at (2012 and earlier) $112,500 $150,000 $75,000 $75,000 $150,000
Exemption phase-out starts at (2013) $115,400 $153,900 $76,950 $76,950 $150,000
No more exemption in 2009 at $299,300 $433,800 $216,900 $165,000 $310,000
No more exemption in 2010 at $302,300 $439,800 $219,900 $165,000 $310,000
No more exemption in 2011 at $306,300 $447,800 $223,900 $165,000 $310,000
No more exemption in 2012 at $314,900 $465,000 $232,500 $165,000 $310,000
No more exemption in 2013 at $323,000 $477,100 $238,550 $165,000 $310,000
Capital gain rate[4] 15% 15% 15% 25% 20%
*For income within the exemption phase-out, marginal tax rates are effectively multiplied by 1.25, which changes 20% to 25%, changes 26% to 32.5%, and changes 28% to 35%.
In addition, corporations with average annual gross receipts of $7,500,000 or less for the prior three years are exempt from AMT, but only so long as they continue to meet this test.[5] Further, a corporation is exempt from AMT during its first year as a corporation. Affiliated corporations are treated as if they were a single corporation for all three exemptions ($40,000, $7.5 million, and first year).[6]
To the extent AMT exceeds regular Federal income tax, a future credit is provided which can offset future regular tax to the extent AMT does not apply in a future year. However, this credit is limited: see further details in the "AMT credit against regular tax" section.
Regular tax used as a basis for computing AMT is found on the following lines of tax return forms: individual Form 1040 Line 44, or corporate Form 1120 Schedule J line 2 less foreign tax credit.[7]
Under the AMT, no deduction is allowed for personal exemptions (other than the AMT specific exemption, which is larger than the personal exemption except for high income taxpayers), nor is the standard deduction.[8] State, local, and foreign taxes are not deductible. However, most other itemized deductions apply at least in part. Significant other adjustments to income and deductions apply.
Individuals must file IRS Form 6251 and corporations must file Form 4626 if they have any net AMT due. The form is also filed to claim the credit for prior year AMT.
Other individual adjustments in computing AMT include:[9]
Miscellaneous itemized deductions are not allowed. These include all items subject to the 2% "floor", such as employee business expenses, tax preparation fees, etc.
The home mortgage interest deduction is limited to interest on purchase money mortgages for a first and second residence.
Medical expenses may be deducted only if they exceed 10% of Adjusted Gross Income, as compared to 7.5% for regular tax.
Inclusion of the bargain element of an Incentive Stock Option when exercised and the stock is not sold in the same tax year, regardless of whether the stock can immediately be sold.
Many AMT adjustments apply to businesses operated by individuals or corporations.[10] The adjustments tend to have the effect of deferring certain deductions or recognizing income sooner. These adjustments include:
Depreciation deductions must be computed using the straight line method and longer lives than may be used for regular tax. (See MACRS)
Deductions for certain "preferences" are limited. These include deductions related to:
circulation costs,
mining costs,
research and experimentation costs,
intangible drilling costs, and
certain amortization.
Certain income must be recognized earlier, including:
long term contracts and
installment sales.
Certain other adjustments apply. Corporations are also subject to an adjustment (up or down) for adjusted current earnings.[11] In addition, a partner or shareholder's share of AMT income and adjustments flow through to the partner or shareholder from the partnership[12] or S corporation.[13]
AMT is reduced by a foreign tax credit, limited based on AMT income rather than regular taxable income.[14] Certain specified business tax credits are allowed.[15]
History[edit]
A predecessor "minimum tax" was enacted by the Tax Reform Act of 1969[16] and went into effect in 1970. Treasury Secretary Joseph Barr prompted the enactment action with an announcement that 155 high-income households had not paid a dime of federal income taxes.[17] The households had taken advantage of so many tax benefits and deductions that they had reduced their tax liabilities to zero.[18] Congress responded by creating an add-on tax on high-income households, equal to 10% of the sum of tax preferences in excess of $30,000 plus the taxpayer's regular tax liability.[19]
The explanation of the 1969 Act prepared by Congress's Staff of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation described the reason for the AMT as follows:
"The prior treatment imposed no limit on the amount of income which an individual or corporation could exclude from tax as the result of various tax preferences. As a result, there were large variations in the tax burdens placed on individuals or corporations with similar economic incomes, depending upon the size of their preference income. In general, those individual or corporate taxpayers who received the bulk of their income from personal services or manufacturing were taxed at relatively higher tax rates than others. On the other hand, individuals or corporations which received the bulk of their income from such sources as capital gains or were in a position to benefit from net lease arrangements, from accelerated depreciation on real estate, from percentage depletion, or from other tax-preferred activities tended to pay relatively low rates of tax. In fact, many individuals with high incomes who could benefit from these provisions paid lower effective rates of tax than many individuals with modest incomes. In extreme cases, individuals enjoyed large economic incomes without paying any tax at all. This was true for example in the case of 154 returns in 1966 with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 a year (apart from those with income exclusions which do not show on the returns filed). Similarly, a number of large corporations paid either no tax at all or taxes which represented very low effective rates."[20]
(Top) Comparison of the regular tax on wages only (not taking into account any deductions) in 2000 and 2004 (orange and blue lines respectively) with the tentative minimum tax (AMT before deducting regular tax) (same brown line for both 2000 and 2004) for a married couple who are filing jointly. Two dashed lines show the margins between the tentative minimum tax and the regular tax rates in 2000 and 2004—and how this margin was becoming narrower from year to year. This means that not many deductions are needed before the AMT must be paid. And one needs to claim fewer deductions in subsequent years in order for the parity to be reached, and thus to get into the AMT territory. (The tentative minimum tax is the minimum amount of tax a person will end up paying. If it is less than the usual tax then there is no AMT.)
(Bottom) The same narrowing gap between regular tax and tentative minimum tax is shown in terms of effective tax rates paid on various amounts of AGI in 2000 and 2004.
The AMT has undergone several changes since 1969. The most significant of those, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, occurred under the Reagan era Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982.[19] The law changed the AMT from an add-on tax to its current form: a parallel tax system. The current structure of the AMT reflects changes that were made by the 1982 law. However both participation and revenues from the AMT temporarily plummeted after the 1986 changes.[21] Congress made other notable, but less significant, changes to the law in 1978, 1982, and 1986.[22]
Further significant changes occurred as a result of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Acts of 1990 and 1993, which raised the AMT rate to 24% from the prior level of 21% and then to 26% and 28% for individual filers with incomes that exceeded $175,000.[23] Now, some taxpayers who do not have very high incomes or participate in numerous special tax benefits and/or activities will pay the AMT.[24]
"Patches" to tax rates and exemptions[edit]
For years since then, Congress had passed one-year "patches" aimed at minimizing the impact of the tax. While not automatically indexed for inflation until a change in the law in early 2013, the exemption had been increased by Congress many times. In addition, the tax rate was increased for individuals effective 1991 and 1993, and the tax was limited for capital gains and qualifying dividends in 2003.
For the 2007 tax year, the patch was passed on December 20, 2007, but only after the IRS had already designed its forms for 2007. The IRS had to reprogram its forms to accommodate the law change.[25]
The tax rate and exemption increases are reflected in the following table:
Alternative minimum tax rate and exemption amounts
1986–1990
1991–1992
1993–2000
2001–2002
2003–2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013[26]
2014[27]
2015[28]
Individual Tax rate
21% 24% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28% 26/28%
Married Filing Jointly
40,000 40,000 45,000 49,000 58,000 62,550 66,250 69,950 70,950 72,450 74,450 78,750 80,800 82,100 83,400
Single or Head of Household
30,000 30,000 33,750 35,750 40,250 42,500 44,350 46,200 46,700 47,450 48,450 50,600 51,900 52,800 53,600
The tax rate for corporations has remained 20% and the exemption amount has remained $40,000 since the 1986 changes.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 set the 2012 exemption amounts to $78,750 for Married Filing Jointly and $50,600 for Single, and made future exemption amounts indexed for inflation.[29]
AMT details[edit]
Alternative minimum tax (AMT)[30] is imposed on an alternative, more comprehensive measure of income than regular federal income tax. Conceptually, it is imposed instead of, rather than in addition to, regular tax.
AMT is imposed if the tentative minimum tax exceeds the regular tax.[31] Tentative minimum tax is the AMT rate of tax times alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) less the AMT foreign tax credit. Regular tax is the regular income tax reduced only by the foreign and possessions tax credits.[7] In any year in which regular tax exceeds tentative minimum tax, a credit (AMT Credit) is allowed against regular tax to the extent the taxpayer has paid AMT in any prior year. This credit may not reduce regular tax below the tentative minimum tax.
Alternative minimum taxable income is regular taxable income, plus or minus certain adjustments, plus tax preference items, less the allowable exemption (as phased out).
Taxpayers and rates[edit]
Individuals, C corporations, estates, and trusts are subject to AMT. Partnerships and S corporations are generally not subject to income or AMT taxes,[32] but, instead, pass-through the income and items related to computing AMT to their partners and shareholders.[33] Foreign persons are subject to AMT only on their income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.[34]
The rate of AMT varies by type of taxpayer.[35] Through 2012, individuals, estates, and trusts are subject to the same rate of tax on long term capital gains for regular tax and AMT.
Exemptions[edit]
The deduction for personal exemptions is not allowed. Instead, all taxpayers are granted an exemption that is phased out at higher income levels.[36] See above for amounts of this exemption and phase-out points. Due to the phase-out of exemptions, the actual marginal tax rate (1.25*26% = 32.5%) is higher for the income above the phase-out point. The Married Filing Separately (MFS) phase-out does not stop when the exemption reaches zero, either in 2009 or 2010. This is because the MFS exemption is half of the joint exemption, but the phase-out is the full amount, so for MFS filers the phase-out amount can be up to twice the exemption amount, resulting in a 'negative exemption'.
For example, using 2009 figures, a filer with $358,800 of income not only gets zero exemption, but is also taxed on an additional $35,475 that was never actually earned (see "Line 29 — Alternative Minimum Taxable Income" in 2009 Instructions for Form 6251 or "Line 28 — Alternative Minimum Taxable Income" in 2010 Instructions for Form 6251). This prevents a married couple with dissimilar incomes from benefiting by filing separate returns so that the lower earner gets the benefit of some exemption amount that would be phased out if they filed jointly. When filing separately, each spouse in effect not only has their own exemption phased out, but is also taxed on a second exemption too, on the presumption that the other spouse could be claiming that on their own separate MFS return.
Small corporations are exempt from AMT.[5] A small corporation is one with average gross receipts for the prior three years of $7.5 million or less. Once a corporation ceases to be a small corporation for AMT, it is never again a small corporation. This limit is applied to all members of an affiliated group as if they were a single corporation.
Depreciation and other adjustments[edit]
All taxpayers claiming deductions for depreciation must adjust those deductions in computing AMT income to the amount of deduction allowed for AMT.[37] For AMT purposes, depreciation is computed on most assets under the straight line method using the class life of the asset. When a taxpayer is required to recognize gain or loss on disposal of a depreciable asset (or pollution control facility), the gain or loss must be adjusted to reflect the AMT depreciation amount rather than regular depreciation amounts.[38] This adjustment also applies to additional amounts deducted in the year of acquisition of the assets. For more details on these calculations, see MACRS.
In addition, corporate taxpayers may be required to make adjustments to depreciation deductions in computing the adjusted current earnings (ACE) adjustment.[11] Such adjustments only apply to assets acquired before 1989.
Adjustments are also required for the following:
Long term contracts: taxpayers must use the percentage of completion method for AMT.[39]
Mine exploration and development costs must be capitalized and amortized over 10 years, rather than expensed.[40]
Certain accelerated deductions related to pollution controls facilities are not allowed.[41]
The credit allowed for alcohol and biodiesel fuels is included in income.[42]
Adjustments for individuals[edit]
Individuals are not allowed certain deductions in computing AMT that are allowed for regular tax.[8] No deduction is allowed for personal exemptions or for the standard deduction. The phase-out of itemized deductions does not apply. No deduction is allowed for state, local, or foreign income or property taxes. A recovery of such taxes is excluded from AMTI. No deduction is allowed for most miscellaneous itemized deductions.
Medical expenses are deductible for AMT only to the extent they exceed 10% of adjusted gross income (this is not unique to AMT, it applies to regular income tax as well).[43]
Interest expense deductions for individuals may be adjusted.[44] Generally, interest paid on debt used to acquire, construct, or improve the individual's principal or second residence is unaffected. This includes interest resulting from refinancing such debt. In addition, investment interest expense is deductible for AMT only to the extent of adjusted net investment income. Other non-business interest is generally not deductible for AMT.
An adjustment is also made for qualified incentive stock options and stock received under employee stock purchase plans.[45] In both cases, the employee must recognize income for AMT purposes on the bargain or compensation element, the employer is granted a deduction for this, and the employee has basis in the shares received.
Circulation and research expenses must be capitalized and amortized.[46]
Adjusted current earnings for corporations[edit]
Corporations are required to make an adjustment based on adjusted current earnings (ACE).[11] The adjustment increases or decreases AMTI for 75% of the difference between ACE and AMTI. ACE is AMTI further adjusted for certain items. These include further depreciation adjustments for most assets, adjustments to more closely reflect earnings and profits, cost rather than percentage depletion, LIFO, charitable contributions and certain other items.
Losses[edit]
The deduction for net operating losses is adjusted to be based on losses for AMTI.[47]
Farm losses are limited for AMT purposes. Passive activity losses are recomputed for AMT purposes based on income and deductions as recomputed for AMT. Certain adjustments apply with respect to farm and passive activity loss rules for insolvent taxpayers.[48]
Tax preferences[edit]
All taxpayers must add back tax preference deductions in computing AMTI.[49] Tax preferences include the following amounts of deduction:
percentage depletion in excess of basis,
the deduction for intangible drilling costs in excess of the amount that would have been allowed if the costs were capitalized and amortized, with adjustments,
otherwise tax exempt interest on bonds used to finance certain private activities, including mutual fund dividends from such interest,
certain depreciation on pre-1987 assets,
7% of excluded gain on certain small business stock.
Taxpayers may elect an optional 10-year write-off of certain tax preference items in lieu of the preference add-back.
Note that in prior years there were certain other tax preference items relating to provisions now repealed.
Credits[edit]
Credits are allowed against AMT for foreign taxes[50] and certain specified business credits.[51]
The AMT foreign tax credit limitation is redetermined based on AMTI rather than regular taxable income. Thus, all adjustments and tax preference items above must be applied in computing the AMT foreign tax credit limitation.
AMT credit against regular tax[edit]
After a taxpayer has paid AMT, a credit is allowed against regular tax in future years for the amount of AMT.[52] The credit for individuals is generally limited to the amount of AMT generated by deferral items (e.g. exercise of incentive stock options), as opposed to exclusion items (e.g. state and local taxes).[53] This credit is limited so that regular tax is not reduced below AMT for the year. Taxpayers may use a simplified method under which the AMT foreign tax credit limit is computed proportionately to the regular tax foreign tax credit limit. IRS Form 8801 is used to claim this credit.
Stock options[edit]
The alternative minimum tax may apply to individuals exercising stock options. Under AMT rules, for incentive stock options at the time of exercise, the "bargain element" or "spread price" (the difference between the strike price and fair market value) is treated as an AMT adjustment, and therefore needs to be added to the AMT calculation even though no ordinary income tax is due at the time of exercise. In contrast, under the regular tax rules capital gains taxes are not paid until the actual shares of stock are sold. For example, if someone exercised a 10,000 share Nortel stock option at $7 when the stock price was at $87, the bargain element was $80 per share or $800,000. Without selling the stock, the stock price dropped to $7. Although the real gain is $0, the $800,000 bargain element still becomes an AMT adjustment, and the taxpayer owes around $200,000 in AMT.
The AMT was designed to prevent people from using loopholes in the tax law to avoid tax. However, the inclusion of unrealized gain on incentive stock options imposes difficulties for people who cannot come up with cash to pay tax on gains that they have not realized yet. As a result, Congress has taken action to modify the AMT regarding incentive stock options. In 2000 and 2001, people exercised incentive stock options and held onto the shares, hoping to pay long-term capital gains taxes instead of short-term capital gains taxes.[54] Many of these people were forced to pay the AMT on this income, and by the end of the year, the stock was no longer worth the amount of alternative minimum tax owed, forcing some individuals into bankruptcy. In the Nortel example given above, the individual would receive a credit for the AMT paid when the individual did eventually sell the Nortel shares. However, given the way AMT carryover amounts are recalculated each year, the eventual credit received is in many cases less than originally paid.
Stock options in non-public companies[edit]
In the Nortel example above, the taxpayer could have avoided problems by selling sufficient stock to cover the AMT liability immediately upon exercising the stock options. However, AMT also applies to stock options in pre-IPO or privately held companies: in such cases the IRS calculates the "fair market value" of the stock on the basis of information supplied by the company, and therefore may treat the stock as having significant value even though the employee may be unable to sell it (either because there is no market, or because of legal restrictions such as lock-up periods). In such a case, it may be effectively impossible for the employee to exercise the option unless he or she has enough cash with which to pay the AMT.
Growth of the AMT[edit]
Although the AMT was originally enacted to target 155 high-income households, it now affects millions of families each year. The number of households that pay the tax has increased significantly in the last decade: In 1997, for example, 605,000 taxpayers paid the AMT;[55] by 2008, the number of affected taxpayers jumped to 3.9 million, or about 4% of individual taxpayers.[56] A total of 27% of households that paid the AMT in 2008 had adjusted gross income of $200,000 or less.[57]
The primary reason for AMT growth is the fact that the AMT exemption, unlike regular income tax items, was not indexed to inflation before 2013. This means that income thresholds did not keep pace with the cost of living.[58] As a result, the tax has affected an increasing number of households each year, as workers' incomes adjusted to inflation and surpassed AMT eligibility levels. While not indexed for inflation, Congress often passed short-term increases in exemption amounts. The Tax Policy Center (a research group) estimated that if the AMT had been indexed to inflation in 1985, and if the Bush tax cuts had not gone into effect, only 300,000 taxpayers—instead of their projected 27 million—would be subject to the tax in 2010.[59] President Barack Obama included indexing the AMT to inflation in his FY2011 budget proposal, which did not pass. AMT raised $26 billion of $1,031 billion total individual income tax in 2008.[56]
Another important reason for the recent expansion of the AMT is the effect of the 2001–2006 Bush tax cuts.[58] The tax cuts decreased marginal tax rates for all income tax brackets without making corresponding changes to AMT rates. The lower tax liabilities triggered AMT eligibility for many households. Economists often refer to this as the "take-back effect" of the Bush tax cuts.[55]
As the AMT has expanded, the inequalities created by the structure of the tax have become more apparent. Taxpayers are not allowed to deduct state and local taxes in calculating their AMT liability; as a result, taxpayers who live in states with high income tax rates are up to 7 times more likely to pay the AMT than those who live in states with lower income tax rates.[60] Similarly, taxpayers are not allowed to deduct personal exemptions in calculating their AMT liability; as a result, taxpayers with large families—and specifically families with 3 or more children—are more likely to pay the AMT than smaller families.[61]
Opinions about AMT[edit]
In recent years, the AMT has been under increased attention.
The AMT rate has not been changed at the same times as regular income tax rates. The tax cut passed in 2001 lowered regular tax rates, but did not lower AMT rates. As a result, certain people are affected by the AMT who were not the intended targets of the laws. People with large deductions, particularly those resident in states or cities with high income tax rates, or those with nonqualifying mortgage interest deductions, are most affected. The AMT also has the potential to tax families with large numbers of dependents (usually children), although in recent years, Congress has acted to keep deductions for dependents, especially children, from triggering the AMT.
Because the AMT was not indexed to inflation until 2013, and because of recent tax cuts,[18][62] an increasing number of middle-income taxpayers have been finding themselves subject to this tax. The lack of indexing produces bracket creep. The recent tax cuts in the regular tax have the effect of causing many taxpayers to pay some AMT, reducing or eliminating the benefit from the reduction in regular rates. (In all such cases, however, the overall tax payable will not increase.[63])
In 2006, the IRS's National Taxpayer Advocate's report highlighted the AMT as the single most serious problem with the tax code. The Advocate noted that the AMT punishes taxpayers for having children or living in a high-tax state and that the complexity of the AMT leads to most taxpayers who owe AMT not realizing it until preparing their returns or being notified by the IRS.[64] A brief issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) (No. 4, April 15, 2004), concludes:
"Over the coming decade, a growing number of taxpayers will become liable for the AMT. In 2010, if nothing is changed, one in five taxpayers will have AMT liability and nearly every married taxpayer with income between $100,000 and $500,000 will owe the alternative tax. Rather than affecting only high-income taxpayers who would otherwise pay no tax, the AMT has extended its reach to many upper-middle-income households. As an increasing number of taxpayers incur the AMT, pressures to reduce or eliminate the tax are likely to grow."[65]
However, CBO's rules[66] state that it must use current law in its analysis, and at the time the above text was written, the AMT threshold was set to expire in 2006 and be reset to far lower values.[67] Critics of the AMT argue that various features are flaws, though others defend some of these features:
The AMT exemption and AMT exemption phase-out threshold are not indexed for inflation so that over time, the real values decline and the fraction of taxpayers subject to the AMT rises. However, on January 1, 2013 the AMT is now adjusted for inflation. This was known as fiscal drag or bracket creep.
The AMT eliminates state and local tax deductions. (Arguments have been produced for and against deducting such taxes. For example, an argument against a deduction is that if taxes are viewed as a payment for government services, they should not be treated differently from other consumption.[68])
The AMT disallows a portion of the foreign tax credit, creating some degree of double taxation for the more than 8 million American citizens living abroad. Some modest income families owe AMT solely because of currency fluctuations.[69]
Businesses and individuals have to do twice the amount of tax planning when considering whether to sell an asset or start a business. They must first consider whether a particular path of action will increase their regular income tax and then also must calculate if alternative tax will increase.
Taxes are often owed in the year that an exercise of ISO stock options occurs, even if no stock is sold (which, for private or pre-IPO companies, may be because it is impossible to sell the stock). Although many taxpayers believe that in such a case no actual income exists, the bargain element of the exercise is considered income under the AMT system. In extreme cases, if the stock is private or the value drops, it may be impossible to realize the money the AMT demands.[70]
"In 1986, when President Ronald Reagan and both parties on Capitol Hill agreed to a major change in the tax system, the law was subtly changed to aim at a wholly different set of deductions, the ones that everyone gets, like the personal exemption, state and local taxes, the standard deduction, certain expenses like union dues and even some medical costs for the seriously ill. At the same time it removed and revised some of the exotic investment deductions. A law for untaxed rich investors was refocused on families who own their homes in high tax states." – David Johnston, New York Times[71]
A further shift, involving many definitional changes and extensive reorganization, occurred with the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
A further criticism is that the AMT does not even affect its intended target. Congress introduced the AMT after it was discovered that 21 millionaires did not pay any US income tax in 1969 as a result of various deductions taken on their income tax return. Since the marginal rate of persons with one million dollars of income is 39.6% and the AMT uses a 26% or 28% rate on all income, it is unlikely that millionaires would get tripped by the AMT as their effective tax rates are already higher. Those that do pay by the AMT are typically people making approximately $200k–$500k.[72]
Determining whether one is subject to the AMT can be difficult. According to the IRS's taxpayer advocate, determining whether someone owes the AMT can require reading 9 pages of instructions, and completing a 16-line worksheet and a 55-line form.[73]
Complexity[edit]
The AMT is a tax of roughly 28% on adjusted gross income over $186,300[74] plus 26% of amounts less than $186,300 minus an exemption depending on filing status after adding back in most deductions. However, taxpayers must also perform all of the paperwork for a regular tax return and then all of the paperwork for Form 6251. Furthermore, affected taxpayers may have to calculate AMT versions of all carryforwards since the AMT carryforwards may be different than regular tax carryforwards. Once a taxpayer qualifies for AMT, he or she may have to calculate AMT versions of carryforward losses and AMT carryforward credits until they are used up in future years. The definitions of taxable income, deductible expenses, and exemptions differ on Form 6251 from those on Form 1040.
The complexity of the AMT paired with the history of last minute annual patches adjusting the law create tax liability uncertainty for taxpayers. For the last ten years, Congress has passed one-year patches to mitigate negative effects, but they are typically passed close to the end of the year. This makes it difficult for taxpayers to determine their tax liability ahead of time. In addition, because the AMT was not indexed for inflation until 2013, the cost of annual patches rises every year.[75]
Taxpayer incomes[edit]
The AMT's former lack of indexation was widely conceded across the political spectrum as a flaw. In 2005, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the US Treasury Department estimated that around 15% of households with incomes between $75,000 and $100,000 must pay the AMT, up from only 2–3% in 2000, with the percentage increasing at high incomes. That percentage was set to increase quickly over the coming years if no changes had been made, most notably indexing for inflation. Currently, households with incomes below $75,000 are subject to the AMT only very rarely (and thus most tax advisors do not recommend computing AMT for such households). That was set to change in only a few years, however, if the AMT had remained unindexed.[76]
The median household income in the United States was $44,389 in 2005, and households making over $75,000 per year made up the top quartile of household incomes. Because those are the households generally required to compute the AMT (though only a fraction currently have to pay), some argue that the AMT still hits only the wealthy or the upper middle class. However, some counties, such as Fairfax County, Virginia ($102,460),[77] and some cities, such as San Jose, California ($76,354),[78] have local median incomes that are considerably higher than the national median, and approach or exceed the typical AMT threshold.
The cost-of-living index is generally higher in such areas, which leads to families who are "middle class" in that area having to pay the AMT, while in poorer locales with lower costs of living, only the "locally wealthy" pay the AMT. In other words, many who pay the AMT have incomes that would place them among the wealthy when considering the United States as a whole, but who think of themselves as "middle class" because of the cost of living in their locale.
As early as the first Tax Reform study in 1984, arguments were made for eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes:
"The current deduction for State and local taxes in effect provides a Federal subsidy for the public services provided by State and local governments, such as public education, road construction and repair, and sanitary services. When taxpayers acquire similar services by private purchase (for example, when taxpayers pay for water or sewer services), no deduction is allowed for the expenditure. Allowing a deduction for State and local taxes simply permits taxpayers to finance personal consumption expenditures with pre-tax dollars."[79]
Proponents of eliminating the state and local tax deduction lost out in the 1986 Tax Reform, but they won a concession by eliminating these deductions in the AMT computation. That, coupled with the non-indexation of the AMT, created a slow-motion repeal of the deduction for state and local income taxes.
The AMT's partial disallowance of the foreign tax credit disadvantages even low-paid American citizens and green card holders who work abroad or who are otherwise paid in foreign currency. Particularly as the dollar falls around the world, those working abroad see their incomes (when reported to the IRS in terms of US dollars) skyrocket, even if their actual incomes fall from year to year, and even if their foreign tax liabilities increase. They are in effect being taxed solely on changes in exchange rates, from which they do not benefit because their household expenses are all in foreign currency.
Avoiding AMT[edit]
AMT may be avoided by staying out of the $150,000 to $415,000 income range.[80] For example, a taxpayer might be better off realizing a $1 million capital gain all in one year rather than dividing it into two or three years.
For taxpayers who owe AMT, IRA (Individual Retirement Account)/Qualified plan contributions, charitable deductions and home mortgage interest (but not "hard money" refinancing interest) are especially valuable. They reduce tax liability by the full tentative minimum tax effective marginal rate of 32.5% or 35% (for those in the AMT exemption phase-out range)[81] plus the full state income tax marginal rate.[82] This may be quite a bit better than under the regular tax.[83]
Arguments against repealing the AMT[edit]
While many parties agree that the AMT needs to be changed, some argue against its outright repeal.
A 2007 study by a left-leaning think tank indicated that 90% of the tax would fall on households making more than $100,000 a year, even if AMT were not inflation adjusted through 2010.[84]
The AMT could be amended so as to have little or no effect on those with lower incomes.
The reduction in tax revenues from repeal is relatively large. The loss is expected to be between $800 billion and $1.5 trillion in federal revenues over 10 years.[85] According to the Washington Post, "By 2008, it would cost the Treasury considerably less to repeal the ordinary income tax system than the alternative minimum tax, according to the Tax Policy Center, jointly run by the liberal Brookings Institution and Urban Institute."[86] In 2007, an analysis in the New York Times claimed that; (1) Annual cost of repealing the AMT, and maintaining the regular income tax, would be $70 billion, while (2) Annual cost of making everyone pay the AMT, and repealing the regular income tax, would be the lesser amount of $63 billion.[87]
AMT reform[edit]
Policy analysts are divided over the best way to address the criticisms of the AMT. Len Burman and Greg Leiserson of The Tax Policy Center, a joint program of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, have proposed a revenue-neutral, highly progressive replacement for the AMT. They suggest an "option [that] would repeal the AMT and replace it with an add-on tax of four percent of adjusted gross income above $100,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples. The thresholds would be indexed for inflation after 2007." This plan, the authors contend, would share the original goal of the AMT—that is, to ensure a certain level of taxation for high earners.[88]
Other groups advocate repealing the AMT rather than attempting to reform it. One such group, the Cato Institute, notes that:
Many tax loopholes the AMT was designed to address have since been closed;
The AMT is needlessly complex and burdensome to taxpayers;
A full repeal would leave Federal revenues as a fraction of GDP at about 18%, its average value in recent decades.[89]
The right-leaning National Taxpayers Union also supports repeal. "It is wholly unfair for policymakers to promote certain social and fiscal ideas through exemptions, credits, and deductions, only to take these incentives away when a taxpayer takes advantage of them too well."[90]
The conservative-leaning Tax Foundation says that the AMT could be effectively repealed simply by correcting the deficiencies in the regular tax code. Economist Patrick Fleenor argues that "it is usually the unjustifiable limitations on taxable income…that cause the AMT backstop to kick in. If income were taxed comprehensively by the regular tax code, there would be no way of legally avoiding taxation, and not one taxpayer would have to file the AMT form even if the law were still on the books."[91]
Some have proposed abolishing the regular tax and modifying and indexing the AMT. A proposal to the 2005 President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform advocated increasing the AMT exemption to $100,000 ($50,000 for singles) and indexing it thereafter, applying a flat 25% rate, and allowing appropriate exemptions for income-producing activities, in addition to repeal of the regular tax.[92]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "At Long Last, a Permanent Patch for a Dreaded Tax". Time. January 3, 2013.
Jump up ^ Calculating the Alternative Minimum Tax Congressional Budget Office Economics and Budget Issue Brief, 2010, page 2. See Willis & Hoffman (2009) page __, and Pratt & Kulsrud (2010) Chapter 13, both cited in "Further reading" section.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 55. Also see IRS Form 6251 (individuals) and Form 4626 (corporations).
Jump up ^ [1], AMT capital gains rate is 15%, but due to the inclusion of capital gains in AMT income, capital gains may reduce the AMT exemption which can result in the effective capital gains rate rising as high as 22% depending on income
^ Jump up to: a b 26 USC 55(e).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 1561(a)(3).
^ Jump up to: a b 26 USC 55(c).
^ Jump up to: a b 26 USC 56(b).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(b). For a table of AMT Adjustments, see, e.g., Pratt & Kulsrud (2006) page 13-9.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56 and 26 USC 57.
^ Jump up to: a b c 26 USC 56(g).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 702(a)(7) providing for 26 CFR 1.58-2(b).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 1366 and for 26 CFR 1.58-4.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 59(a).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 38(c). These credits include the credits for alcohol used as fuel, low income housing, work opportunity, empowerment zone, renewable electricity, FICA tip, rehabilitation, and energy.
Jump up ^ Pub. L. No. 91-172, 83 Stat. 487 (December 30, 1969).
Jump up ^ http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/22400.html
^ Jump up to: a b Weisman, Jonathan (March 7, 2004). "Falling Into Alternative Minimum Trouble". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b "JCT Publications 2007".
Jump up ^ General explanation of the Tax reform act of 1969, H.R. 13270, 91st Congress, Public Law 91-172. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. December 3, 1970. p. 105. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
Jump up ^ L. E. Burman, W. G. Gale, J. Rohaly, and B. H. Harris, "The Individual AMT: Problems and Potential Solutions". Tax Policy Center: Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, September 2002.
Jump up ^ "Present Law and Background Relating to the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax" (PDF). May 20, 2005. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
Jump up ^ Pub. L No.103-66 Sec. 13203 (January 5, 1993).
Jump up ^ Kaye A. Thomas. "Alternative Minimum Tax 101". Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
Jump up ^ Herszenhorn, David M. (December 20, 2007). "Congress Averts Higher Tax Bill for Middle Class". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
Jump up ^ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-13-15.pdf
Jump up ^ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-13-35.pdf
Jump up ^ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-14-61.pdf
Jump up ^ See Internal Revenue Code section 55(d), as amended by section 104(b)(1) of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (January 2, 2013).
Jump up ^ The AMT is prescribed in 26 USC 55 through 59 and 26 CFR 1.55-1 through 1.59-1. The IRS has not issued a publication on alternative minimum tax, but provides details in instructions to individual Form 6251 and corporate Form 4626. The IRS also has a web-based calculator, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Assistant for Individuals, available for recent tax years.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 55(a).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 701, 26 USC 1363(a). Note: An S corporation may be subject to tax on "built-in gains" if it was converted from a C corporation.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 702, 26 USC 1366.
Jump up ^ Under 26 USC 871 and 26 USC 881, foreign persons are subject to a flat rate of tax of 30% of gross income, without allowance of any deductions, subject to reduction under tax treaties. Income taxed under these sections is excluded from the normal definition of gross income, and thus from AMT. See 26 USC 872 and 26 USC 882. 26 USC 882 explicitly makes reference to 26 USC 55.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 55(b).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 55(d).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(1).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(6).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(3).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(2).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(5).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(7).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(b)(1)(B).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(b)(1)(C) and 26 USC 56(e).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(b)(3).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(b)(2).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 56(a)(4).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 58.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 57.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 59.
Jump up ^ 26 USC 38(c)(4).
Jump up ^ 26 USC 53.
Jump up ^ Tax, TurboTax – Taxes, Income. "Alternative Minimum Tax: Common Questions".
Jump up ^ Stock Options, CNN Money
^ Jump up to: a b [Congressional Research Service, The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax, March 24, 2010]
^ Jump up to: a b IRS 2010 Fall Statistics on Income Bulletin, page 49. Also see page 53 for certain totals.
Jump up ^ See IRS Statistics, above, page 49. Note that many tax preferences reduce adjusted gross income and increase AMT.
^ Jump up to: a b "Options to Fix the AMT". January 19, 2007.
Jump up ^ http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=1000505
Jump up ^ http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=560
Jump up ^ Congressional Budget Office report.
Jump up ^ TPC Tax Topics Archive: The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT): 11 Key Facts and Projections Archived May 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Statement of Alan Viard, American Enterprise Institute. Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House Committee on Ways and Means, March 07, 2007.
Jump up ^ "National Taxpayer Advocate 2006 Annual Report to Congress-Executive Summary" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
Jump up ^ "The Alternative Minimum Tax". cbo.gov. April 15, 2004.
Jump up ^ "What Is a Current-Law Economic Baseline?". cbo.gov. June 2, 2005.
Jump up ^ "IRS.gov 404 Error Page" (PDF).
Jump up ^ Kim Reuben (May 15, 2008). "The impact of repealing state and local tax deductibility" (PDF). Tax Analysts / Tax Policy Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Daily Deduction: Unraveling the Alternative Minimum Tax".
Jump up ^ "Death to the AMT!".
Jump up ^ Johnston, David Cay (March 4, 2007). "The Untaxed Rich, Found and Then Lost". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
Jump up ^ Nitti, Tony (March 12, 2013). "Tax Aspects Of Paul Ryan's FY 2014 Republican Budget Proposal". Forbes. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
Jump up ^ "National Taxpayer Advocate 2006 Report to Congress" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
Jump up ^ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i6251.pdf
Jump up ^ "Alternative minimum tax (AMT)". taxpolicycenter.org.
Jump up ^ Leiserson, Greg (2008). "The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax: Historical Data and Projections" (PDF). Brookings Institution & Urban Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
Jump up ^ "2005–2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimate – Fairfax County, Virginia". US Census Bureau. 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
Jump up ^ "2005–2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimate – San Jose, CA". US Census Bureau. 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
Jump up ^ Tax Reform for Fairness, Simplicity, and Economic Growth: The Treasury Department Report to the President. Volume 2: General Explanation of the Treasury Department Proposals. Office of the Secretary, Department of the Treasury. November 1984. p. 62. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
Jump up ^ "The alternative minimum tax and effective marginal tax rates". Archived from the original on June 17, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2016. CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
Jump up ^ The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax, Congressional Budget Office, Economic and Budget Issue Brief, 2010, page 6. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
Jump up ^ "The Expanding Reach of the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Federal Income Tax Table (with Rate Schedule on last page)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
Jump up ^ Aviva Aron-Dine (February 14, 2007). "Myths and Realities about the Alternative Minimum Tax". Center on Budgetary and Policy Priorities. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007. (see myth 1)
Jump up ^ Aviva Aron-Dine (February 14, 2007). "Myths and Realities about the Alternative Minimum Tax". Center on Budgetary and Policy Priorities. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007. (see myth 3)
Jump up ^ Jonathan Weisman (March 7, 2004). "Falling Into Alternative Minimum Trouble". Washington Post. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
Jump up ^ David Cay Johnston (April 4, 2007). "The Untaxed Rich, Found and Then Lost". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Jump up ^ "A Simple, Progressive Replacement for the AMT". Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
Jump up ^ "The Alternative Minimum Tax: Repeal, Not Reform" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
Jump up ^ "The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax: No Alternative But Repeal". Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
Jump up ^ "Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax". Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
Jump up ^ "A Fair and Balanced Tax System for the 21st Century". Archived from the original on January 9, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
Further reading[edit]
Standard tax texts
Willis, Eugene, Hoffman, William H., Jr., et al., South-Western Federal Taxation, published annually (cited as Willis & Hoffman). 2009 edition included ISBN 978-0-324-66050-0 (student) and ISBN 978-0-324-66208-5 (instructor).
Pratt, James W., Kulsrud, William N., et al., Federal Taxation, updated periodically (cited as Pratt & Kulsrud). 2010 edition ISBN 978-1-4240-6986-6.
CBO issue brief
CBO Issue Brief – The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax – January 2010
External links[edit]
IRS: AMT Assistant for Individuals (online software)
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Rock the Casbah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Rock the Casbah (disambiguation).
"Rock the Casbah"
Single by The Clash
from the album Combat Rock
B-side
"Long Time Jerk"
Released
11 June 1982
Format
Vinyl
CD single
Recorded
1981
Genre
New wave[1][2]
dance-punk[3]
Length
3:43
6:35 (extended version)
Label
CBS
Epic
Songwriter(s)
The Clash[4]
Producer(s)
The Clash
The Clash singles chronology
"Should I Stay or Should I Go"
(1982) "Rock the Casbah"
(1982) "Straight to Hell"
(1982)
"Should I Stay or Should I Go"
(1982) "Rock the Casbah"
(1982) "Straight to Hell"
(1982)
The Clash reissued singles chronology
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" (rerelease)
(1991) String Module Error: Match not found1991 "Rock the Casbah" (rerelease)
(1991) String Module Error: Match not found1991 "London Calling" (2nd rerelease)
(1991) String Module Error: Match not found1991
Audio sample
The Clash "Rock the Casbah" (1982)
file
help
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982. The song was released as the third single from their fifth album, Combat Rock. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US (their second and last top 40 and only top 10 single in the United States) and, along with the track "Mustapha Dance", it also reached number eight on the dance chart.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Recording
2 Lyrics
3 Music video
4 Single
4.1 Single issues
5 Legacy
6 Cover versions
7 Chart performance
7.1 Weekly charts
7.2 Year-end charts
8 Personnel
9 References
9.1 Bibliography
10 External links
Recording[edit]
"Rock the Casbah" was musically written by the band's drummer Topper Headon, based on a piano part that he had been toying with.[6][7] Finding himself in the studio without his three bandmates, Headon progressively taped the drum, piano and bass parts, recording the bulk of the song's musical instrumentation himself.[6][8]
This origin makes "Rock the Casbah" different from the majority of Clash songs, which tended to originate with music written by the Strummer-Jones songwriting partnership.[8]
Upon entering the studio to hear Headon's recording, the other Clash members were impressed with his creation, stating that they felt the musical track was essentially complete.[8] From this point, relatively minor overdubs were added, such as guitars and percussion.
However, Joe Strummer was not impressed by the page of suggested lyrics that Headon gave him.[6] According to Clash guitar technician Digby Cleaver, they were "a soppy set of lyrics about how much he missed his girlfriend".[6] "Strummer just took one look at these words and said, 'How incredibly interesting!', screwed the piece of paper into a ball and chucked it backwards over his head."[6]
Strummer had been developing a set of lyrical ideas that he was looking to match with an appropriate tune. Before hearing Headon's music, Strummer had already come up with the phrases "rock the casbah" and "you'll have to let that raga drop" as lyrical ideas that he was considering for future songs.[9][10] After hearing Headon's music, Strummer went into the studio's toilets and wrote lyrics to match the song's melody.[7][8]
The version of the song on Combat Rock, as well as many other Clash compilations, features an electronic sound effect beginning at the 1:52 minute point of the song. This noise is a monophonic version of the song "Dixie". The sound effect source was generated by the alarm from a digital wristwatch that Mick Jones owned, and was intentionally added to the recording by Jones.[8]
Lyrics[edit]
Joe Strummer had been toying with the phrase "rock the casbah" prior to hearing Topper Headon's musical track that would form the basis of the song. This phrase had originated during a jam session with Strummer's violinist friend Tymon Dogg. Dogg began playing Eastern scales with his violin and Joe started shouting "rock the casbah!" Not hearing Strummer properly, Dogg thought that Strummer had been shouting at him to "stop, you cadger!"[9]
Further inspiration for "Rock the Casbah"'s lyrics originated from Joe Strummer observing the band's manager Bernie Rhodes moaning about The Clash's increasing tendency to perform lengthy songs. Rhodes asked the band facetiously "does everything have to be as long as this rāga?" (referring to the Indian musical style known for its length and complexity). Strummer later returned to his room at the Iroquois Hotel and wrote the opening lines to the song: "The King told the boogie-men 'you have to let that rāga drop.'"[11][10][9]
The song gives a fabulist account of a ban on Western rock music by an Arab king.[6] The lyrics describe the King's efforts to stop his population from listening to this music, such as ordering his military's jet fighters to bomb any people in violation of the ban. The pilots ignore the orders, and instead play rock music on their cockpit radios. The population then proceed to "rock the casbah" by dancing to the music. This scenario was inspired by the ban on Western music in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The song's lyrics feature various Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Sanskrit loan-words, such as sharif, bedouin, sheikh, kosher, rāga, muezzin, minaret, and casbah.[12]
Music video[edit]
The music video for "Rock the Casbah" was filmed in Austin, Texas by director Don Letts on 8 and 9 June 1982.[13]
The music video intermixes footage of The Clash (with Terry Chimes on the drums) miming a performance of the song, with a storyline depicting two characters traveling together throughout Texas. The video depicts an Muslim hitchhiker and a Hasidic Jewish limo driver befriending each other on the road and skanking together through the streets to a Clash concert at Austin's City Coliseum. At one point they are seen eating hamburgers in front of a Burger King restaurant. At another point, the Muslim character is seen drinking a beer; Letts stated that all that imagery was "about breaking taboos."[14] Throughout the video, an armadillo is repeatedly shown walking near the band members, walking along the road, and following the two characters into the city.[15]
The Clash is shown miming a performance of the song in front of a pumpjack in a Texas oil field. For most of the video clip, guitarist Mick Jones's face is obscured by a veiled camouflage hat. The reason for this is that Jones was in a bad mood during the film shoot.[13] Jones' face remains hidden until the final 30 seconds of the clip, when his bandmate Joe Strummer pulls the hat off.
Single[edit]
The single version has more pronounced bass. Also when Joe Strummer screams "The crowd caught a whiff / Of that crazy casbah jive" at the end of the third verse the word "jive" is sustained for several seconds with digital delay. Additionally, the sound effects of the jet fighters in the last verse are lower in the mix, particularly just after "drop your bombs between the minarets." The single version of the song is what is played in the music video.
"Mustapha Dance", which features in many releases of the single, is an instrumental remix of the song.
Single issues[edit]
The single has several issues, all with different cover, format and B-side (see the table below).[16]
Year B-side Format Label Country Note
1982 "Rock the Casbah" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Epic 34-03245 CAN/USA Promo
1982 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 12" vinyl CBS/Sony Records Inc. 07.5P-191 JP —
1982 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Epic 49-03144 USA —
1982 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 12" vinyl Epic 49-03144 CAN —
1982 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 7" vinyl CBS A112479 UK Picture disc
1982 "Red Angel Dragnet" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Epic 34-03245 CAN —
1982 "Long Time Jerk" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Epic 34-03245 USA In blue Epic generic die cut sleeve
1982 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 12" vinyl CBS A 13-2479 UK —
1982 "Long Time Jerk" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Epic 15-05540 USA —
1991 "Mustapha Dance" 45 rpm 7" vinyl Columbia 656814-7 UK Reissue
1991
"Mustapha Dance"
"The Magnificent Dance"
45 rpm 12" vinyl Columbia 656814-6 UK —
1991
"Mustapha Dance"
"The Magnificent Dance"
CD Columbia 656814-2 UK —
Legacy[edit]
The title of the film Rock the Casbah is taken from the song.[17]
The song was chosen by Armed Forces Radio to be the first song broadcast on the service covering the area during Operation Desert Storm. In one of the campfire scenes late in the 2007 documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, a Granada friend states that Strummer wept when he heard that the phrase "Rock the Casbah" was written on an American bomb that was to be detonated on Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.[18]
Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.[19] In 2006, the conservative National Review released their list of the top 50 "Conservative Rock Songs", with "Rock the Casbah" at No. 20, noting the Clear Channel list as well as frequent requests to the British Forces Broadcasting Service during the Iraq War.[20] Cultural reviewer and political analyst Charlie Pierce commented that "the notion of the Clash as spokesfolk for adventurism in the Middle East might have been enough to bring Joe Strummer back from the dead."[21]
Cover versions[edit]
Other versions of "Rock the Casbah" have been recorded by the Austin, Texas, band One Bad Pig, on the 1992 album Blow the House Down; the Australian band Something for Kate; Solar Twins on the movie soundtrack for the 1999 film Brokedown Palace; the American band Trust Company; the Japanese duo Tica recording a version in 2000 sampled by the English drum and bass/trip hop group from Bristol, Smith & Mighty;[22] and the Asturian studio project Soncai System, who did an Asturian language version of the song on the album Clashturies (2007).
The Algerian rock singer Rachid Taha covered the song (in Arabic) on his 2004 album Tékitoi. On 27 November 2005 at the Astoria, London, during the Stop the War Coalition Benefit Concert, "...for the night's grandstanding conclusion, the Clash legend Mick Jones strides on in a skinny black suit and plays probably the most exciting guitar he has delivered in years. He and the band are brilliant on Taha's definitive take on "Rock the Casbah", for which the audience goes berserk."[23] They again played Taha's version of the song, "Rock el Casbah", on February 2006, at the France 4 TV show Taratatà.[24][25] In 2007 at the Barbican, ".... The band were later joined by special guest Mick Jones from The Clash who performed on "Rock El Casbah" and then stayed on stage for the remainder of the show."[26][27]
Will Smith's song "Will 2K" of the Willennium album samples "Rock the Casbah" both instrumentally and in some of the lyrics.[28] "It's Gonna Be Alright" by house act Pussy 2000 also samples the song.[29] Richard Cheese recorded a lounge cover of the song on his 2004 album I'd Like a Virgin. U2 have also played a snippet of the song on their 2005–2006 Vertigo Tour. After hearing the crowd singing the song as it was played over the loudspeaker before the start of the concert, Bono, the lead singer of U2, started singing "Rock the Casbah" in the middle of one of their songs during a concert in Melbourne. It has also made appearances on their 360° Tour. It has been played in "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which shows clips from Iranian protests. Green Day covered the song near the end of their AOL Sessions, and also performed it during a 2004 concert at The Warfield San Francisco.
Howlin' Pelle Almqvist of The Hives covered the song with some members of another Swedish band, Randy for a Joe Strummer Tribute concert at The Debaser in Stockholm.
A cover version was also recorded by Ranking Roger and Pato Banton in 1999 for the Clash tribute album Burning London: The Clash Tribute.
Chart performance[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1982–1983)
Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] 3
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 21
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[34] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[36] 30
US Billboard Hot 100[37] 8
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[37] 8
US Billboard Top Tracks[37] 6
US Cash Box[38] 13
Chart (1991)
Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[39] 22
Ireland (IRMA)[40] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[41] 15
Year-end charts[edit]
Chart (1982)
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[42] 41
Chart (1983)
Position
US Billboard Hot 100[43] 52
US Cash Box[44] 83
Personnel[edit]
Joe Strummer – lead vocals, guitar
Mick Jones – guitar, backing vocals, sound effects
Paul Simonon – backing vocals
Topper Headon – drums, piano, bass guitar[45]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Clash – Combat Rock". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 24 June 2013. the infectious, dance-inflected new wave pop of "Rock the Casbah"
Jump up ^ Keefe, Michael (15 June 2010). "Combat Rock (CD) – The Clash". Amoeba Music. Retrieved 24 June 2013. ragga-tinged new wave anthem "Rock the Casbah"
Jump up ^ "12 Of The Most Underrated Punk Songs of All-Time". GIANT. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Topper Headon is said to have written the main piano riff, but he as well as the rest of the band are credited
Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 59.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Gilbert 2004, p. 306.
^ Jump up to: a b Webb, Spike (23 January 2014). Topper Headon (The Clash) – Q&A – Fan Questions (Interview). 00:24 minutes in.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Webb, Spike (3 May 2012). Topper Headon (The Clash) talks about 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous' (Interview). 00:54 minutes in.
^ Jump up to: a b c Gilbert 2004, p. 305.
^ Jump up to: a b Temple, Julien (Director) (2007). Strummer:The Future is Unwritten (Motion picture). 68 minutes in.
Jump up ^ The Clash (19 November 1991). Clash on Broadway (CD). New York, NY: Epic. OCLC 25248082.
Jump up ^ "Rock the Casbah". Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. . Londonsburning.org.
^ Jump up to: a b Gilbert 2004, p. 323.
Jump up ^ Tannenbaum, Rob; Marks, Ted (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. Penguin. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
Jump up ^ "The Clash - Rock the Casbah" on YouTube
Jump up ^ "Rock the Casbah / Mustapha Dance". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Simon, Alissa (11 February 2013). "Review: 'Rock the Casbah'". Variety. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
Jump up ^ Ty, Burr (9 November 2007). "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten Movie Review". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
Jump up ^ Murphy, Heather (17 September 2001). "It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It". Slate.
Jump up ^ Miller, John J. (26 May 2006). "Rockin' the Right". National Review Online. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Pierce, Charles P. (2009). "5". Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. Doubleday.
Jump up ^ "Rock the Casbah (Smith & Mighty Steppers mix) (5:28)". Last.fm. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ Cumming, Tim (29 November 2005). "Stop The War Benefit Concert: Brian Eno/Imogen Heap/Nitin Sawhney/Rachid Taha, Astoria, London". Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. . The Independent. Stopwar.org.uk.
Jump up ^ "Rachid Taha & Mick Jones – "Rock El Casbah" Live (2006)". YouTube. 2 December 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Rock El Casbah – Rachid Taha & Mick Jones – Taratata". YouTube.
Jump up ^ "Rachid Taha". Archived from the original on 14 January 2008. (SHTML). BBC Online. 14 January 2008.
Jump up ^ "Rock The Casbah, Rachid Taha, Barbican,2007, Mick Jones, guest". YouTube. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Will Smith feat. K-Ci's Will 2K sample of The Clash's Rock the Casbah". WhoSampled. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
Jump up ^ "Pussy 2000's It's Gonna Be Alright sample of The Clash's Rock the Casbah". WhoSampled. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
Jump up ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6194." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
Jump up ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Clash - Rock The Casbah search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Clash – Rock The Casbah" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Charts.org.nz – The Clash – Rock The Casbah". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Clash – Rock The Casbah". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c "The Clash – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
Jump up ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JANUARY 29, 1983". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. . Cash Box magazine.
Jump up ^ "Ultratop.be – The Clash – Rock The Casbah" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rock the Casbah". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
Jump up ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1983". The Longbored Surfer. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983". Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. . Cash Box magazine.
Jump up ^ "'I forgive you': The Clash's drummer Topper Headon makes peace with the man who sacked him". The Independent. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
Bibliography[edit]
Gilbert, Pat (2004). Passion Is A Fashion: The Real Story Of The Clash. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1845130170.
External links[edit]
"A Brief History of 'Rock the Casbah'" City Pages (15 December 1999)
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
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