This is a great summary of the main points of the Camp proposal. The acid test will be if the Department of the Treasury Office of Tax Policy weighs in and begins negotiating. They might for appearances sake, or they might do it seriously. That would be interesting because it would seem that the President got his tax agenda as promised in the 2008 in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act on January 2, 2013 - which as everyone knows made the Bush tax cuts on the bottom 98% permanent (for the most part) but let them expire for the top 2%. Because the reform leaves the current distribution in place, at least in the short term, I could see him supporting it - although I think the surtax treating employer provided health insurance as taxable might lose Presidential support. If Obama gets on board, the Senate and the House Democrats may fall in line - provided some old guard House Republicans who are retiring do so too. This proposal is probably one of the best doing what the Simpson Bowles committee wanted, although with different numbers and more pain at the top. If you are trying to duplicate 1986, this would be the way to do it. Still, I dont think that is enough. Reform should not be a wash for poorer people - it should increase their income dramatically through a much higher child tax cut (even if rate cuts are less). For good measure, it should also stop most people from having to file taxes, shifting payment to employers through a VAT-like net business receipts tax (ala both myself and Lawrence B. Lindsey or even a VAT ala Michael Graetz). That would be bold in an election year - which is why Camps proposal is likely the basis of any bill passing before 2016 - which gives Camp an excuse to keep his Chair for another two years. Of course, if this bill is a swan song then it is DOA. We will see shortly.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:07:10 +0000
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