Tax Reform Act of 1969
The Tax Reform Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91–172) was a United States federal tax law signed by President Richard Nixon in 1969. Its largest impact was creating the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was intended to tax high-income earners who had previously avoided incurring tax liability due to various exemptions and deductions.
It also established individual and corporate minimum taxes and a new tax schedule for single taxpayers. The Act slightly increased standard deductions and personal exemptions and created more stringent requirements on nonprofit organizations, which many argue drove them to professionalization.[1]
The Office of Tax Analysis of the United States Department of the Treasury summarized the tax changes as follows.[2]
The Act provided a government definition of "private foundation" for the first time (albeit indirectly).[3] The law enacted these requirements of private philanthropic foundations.[4]
Alternative Minimum Tax[edit]
Before 1969, there were people with income exceeding $200,000 (equivalent to $1.66 million in 2023) who had paid zero income tax because of tax deductions and tax credits. The Alternative Minimum Tax was included in the Tax Reform Act of 1969 in order to require these high-income people to pay some income tax.
By 2003, 1.8% of all taxpayers (or 2.4 million income tax returns) paid Alternative Minimum Tax. The Tax Policy Center reports that 4.3 million taxpayers paid Alternative Minimum Tax in 2011.[7][8] However, those who pay the Alternative Minimum Tax may be eligible to take a tax credit in future years in which they are not required to pay Alternative Minimum Tax.[9]
The Alternative Minimum Tax was not indexed for inflation until 2013.[10]