Rangel Proposes Bipartisan Tax Policy 'Retreat'

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

30 November 2006

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been invited to attend a bi-partisan 'retreat' proposed by New York Democratic Representative Charles Rangel to find common ground between Democrats, Republicans and the government on tax and trade issues.

Rangel, who announced the plans at a New York breakfast sponsored by Crain's magazine, said that the retreat will be held when the new Congress convenes in the New Year, and would attempt "to see what we can do as Republicans and Democrats, at least on the Ways and Means Committee, to be able to work together".

If successful, similar retreats would be held to discuss social security, Medicare and Medicaid, said Rangel.

Rangel is in line to take the chairmanship of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxation, and has pledged to engender a spirit of cooperation with the GOP on tax issues, despite the Democrats winning back control of the House in the 2006 mid-term elections.

"Compromise and pain is going to be involved, there are going to be winners and losers, and that's why these reforms need to be bipartisan," he stated.

While the Democrats had opposed many of President Bush's tax cuts, particularly the investment tax cuts which has temporarily reduced capital gains and dividend tax to 15%, Rangel said that to repeal them would be counterproductive, and would merely throw the area of tax policy into chaos.

Instead, Rangel believes that continuing tax cuts for middle class taxpayers, renewing the R&D tax credit and looking at possible repeal of the alternative minimum tax should be priorities for the new Congress.

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