Tax Policy in Action.

According to Reason:

The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 to prevent 155 extremely wealthy taxpayers from using deductions and credits to avoid paying any federal income taxes. Yet as Reason columnist and Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy explains in her latest appearance on Bloomberg TV, today the tax overwhelmingly impacts non-millionaires living in just a handful of states. By separating economic myths from economic realities, de Rugy explains the facts about the Alternative Minimum Tax.

All you need is one good year and a single years income approaching $300k to have an extra $10k gouged out of your hide over what you would pay under the normal tax schedules.