Congressional Leaders Call for Comprehensive Tax Reform

From: Council on Foundations Policy Update

Last week, the Federal Policy Group, a Washington consulting firm, held its annual Legislative & U.S. Government Policy Seminar, which has become the most prominent policy forum of its kind. This year’s event featured leading lawmakers from both parties who discussed a wide range of tax, budget, and other policy issues, as well as the legislative and political outlook.

The event featured House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (D-Mich.), both of whom called for comprehensive tax reform. Boehner noted that Americans spend $500 billion on tax compliance each year and that a flatter, fairer tax code would make the nation more competitive. He said comprehensive reform requires addressing the corporate and individual tax codes.

Camp said he has hosted planning sessions with House Republicans with the primary goal of enacting comprehensive tax reform with no tax increases. Camp also urged President Obama and the Senate to support fast tracking of comprehensive tax reform and said doing so would send a clear, strong message to the markets, employers, and families that Washington is serious about tax reform.

Representative Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), who chairs the select revenue measures subcommittee, said he would continue to hold hearings on tax extenders, including the IRA rollover, and that he would like an extension soon. But he did not express confidence that this would happen before a lame-duck session of Congress next fall.

Additionally, many lawmakers, including Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), expressed concern about the country’s fiscal well-being as a result of the pending expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, broad spending cuts in the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the re-emergence of the alternative minimum tax. The lawmakers stressed that a bipartisan approach must be taken to prevent a "train wreck.”