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Baucus Announces Hearings On Tax Reform

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

17 April 2008

As millions of Americans filed their income tax returns on 15th April, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) kicked off a series of hearings on tax reform with a look at America’s income tax code, and announced plans for future hearings and roundtable sessions to prepare for a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code in 2009.

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over US tax policy, and Baucus argued that this year’s look at America's tax system and reform options should produce a set of principles to guide the work of the Committee – and a new presidential administration – on tax reform next year.

“The Finance Committee needs to be informed and ready to go in January 2009, and that means we have to work hard now. We have to first understand pretty comprehensively how the system works today. We have to talk about the natural tensions in tax reform, and what actually happens to working families, to American businesses, and to our country’s global competitiveness depending on how we change the code,” stated Baucus, continuing:

“Even in a year where much won’t get done legislatively, we can build a framework of knowledge on which to review options and proposals when it’s time for tax reform.”

Baucus revealed that three additional hearings are already on the Finance calendar, to be developed in consultation with Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and with members on both sides of the panel. Initial topics will include:

  • May 13th – Taxing Individuals: This hearing will review the concept of implementing social policies through the tax code, will identify those goals that the tax code addresses most effectively, and will ask whether these goals should be part of a reformed system.
  • June 5th – Taxing Businesses: This hearing will explore the way we currently tax the income of domestic non-corporate businesses and will seek to identify the economic effects of the current multi-tiered pass-through regime.
  • July (date TBA) – Taxing American Multi-Nationals: This hearing will examine how to ensure equity and competitiveness in taxing of multi-national companies.

According to Baucus, issues uncovered at the tax reform hearings will be further explored in expert roundtables. He stated that he intends to work with Committee members to plan the roundtables and additional hearings this year.

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