Advice for tax reformers. TPC Director Mark Mazur testified before the Senate Finance Committee this week, joining three other former assistant Treasury secretaries for tax policy. He described four guardrails that should guide tax reform: (1) The tax code is designed to raise revenue for government goods and services, (2) people who earn the same amount of income should be taxed equally, (3) people who make more should pay more, and (4) taxes should be as simple as possible. He added that tax reform that stays within these parameters would still be politically and technically difficult, but could be pursued with both big and small measures. Reform will be more likely to endure if it is bipartisan.
Tax reformers take note: Americans are not thrilled about reform or rate cuts. The latest Bloomberg poll finds only 4 percent of Americans see taxes as the most important issue facing the country while 35 percent consider health care to be their top issue. Also of note: “By a margin of 49 percent to 42 percent, respondents said they don't think cutting corporate taxes will create more jobs.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan begs to differ. He’ll visit athletic shoe manufacturer New Balance today to make another pitch for tax reform. "At the end of the day, what matters is we get tax reform that we can all agree to, and so we're working toward that consensus…And I do fundamentally and sincerely and optimistically believe, we are there, we're going to get there."
Online sales taxes redux. The House Judiciary regulatory reform subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on a bill to bar states from requiring remote retailers from collecting sales taxes unless they have a physical presence in the state. In case you weren’t sure where the panel is coming from, the title of the hearing is No Regulation Without Representation: H.R. 2887 and the Growing Problem of States Regulating Beyond Their Borders.” The bill is cosponsored by Judiciary Committee chair Bob Goodlatte, who once favored collection of sales taxes by remote sellers.
Today on the Hill. The Senate Finance Committee will vote on the nomination of David Kautter, formerly of Ernst & Young, to serve as Assistant Treasury Secretary for tax policy.
