US Tax Reform Panel To Hold First Meeting On February 16

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

14 February 2005

Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux, Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, have announced the witness list for the Panel’s first meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

The four witnesses called to testify in the first meeting will include: Fred T. Goldberg, a Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, DC; Louis Kaplow, Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School; William G. Gale, of the Brookings Institution and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center; and Stephen J. Entin, President and Executive Director at the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation.

As part of their testimony, the witnesses are expected to provide an historical overview of the current US tax system and brief the Panel on background about different tax systems, paying particular attention to the difference between a tax on income and a tax on consumption in terms of simplicity, fairness and economic growth.

Senator Mack stated last week that:

“The President has tasked our Panel with developing reforms to make the tax code simpler, fairer and more growth oriented. I look forward to the opportunity to hear from Secretary Snow as well as this distinguished group of experts as we begin the process of examining the problem and formulating solutions.”

Meanwhile, Senator Breaux added: “The current tax system is an unfair burden on Americans. When it takes the average taxpayer 11 hours to fill out the short tax form, something is wrong. This is a unique opportunity to work in a bipartisan effort and find ways to make the tax system serve Americans better.”

The Panel also announced the launch of its official website, Taxreformpanel.gov, which will provide information on the Panel’s activities, meetings and announcements.

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