Baucus pushing tax code overhaul, wants reform

Source: The Montana Standard, ButteJuly 20--HELENA -- Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.新蒲崗迷你倉, said Friday he's committed to working with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to overhaul federal taxes before he leaves office after 2014.The veteran senator said he and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., will be traveling to Philadelphia next to hear from both management and employees of some businesses after a similar trip to Minnesota earlier this month at 3M and Balldinger Bakery."We asked what do they want in tax reform," Baucus said in an interview in Helena. "Both wanted the same thing: broaden the base and lower the rates. There are way too many deductions and exclusions."Not getting into specifics, Baucus said, "I do agree very much with the concept, broaden the base and lower the rates. That's the approach we're taking here."In addition, Baucus and Camp also regularly invite 12 members of Congress -- half Democrats and half Republicans -- to talk about overhauling taxes over burgers and beer at Kelly's Irish Times on Capitol Hill in Washington."We talk about tax reform," he said. "Some of the people have never met before."Baucus and Camp have a website to solicit tax change suggestions and comments from Americans. It is: https://taxreform.gov/ .Baucus said he also keeps in close touch with the Obama administration, meeting twice a moth with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and weekly by phone or in person with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.The federal tax code needs to be updated, Baucus said.""The code is extremely dated," he said. "It hasn't been updated since 1986. The world has changed. The United States has changed since '86."He said there have been 15,000 additions to the tax code since 1986, with 41 different definitions of a small business. The Internal Revenue Service publishes a 90-pamini storagee booklet just on kids, parents and education alone."It's just way too complicated," he said. "It's time to create more jobs, more growth. Clearly, it will stimulate more entrepreneurship, help make U.S. companies more competitive with other countries' companies. Other countries have brought their codes up to date and helped their companies be more competitive. We have not. We're a little slow."If this session of Congress doesn't succeed in revising the tax code, Baucus said fears another opportunity won't surface until well into the administration of the president who succeeds President Barack Obama.He said he's working with Obama, who isn't driving tax reform as President Ronald Reagan did in the mid-1980s."The president is involved," Baucus said. "I think if he were too involved, it might be counterproductive. Some members of the other party, especially in the House, just don't like anything President Obama does. It's good to not get those members of Congress all riled up."Baucus said he also meets regularly with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee."We're working together on the idea of a clean slate," he said.They decided to look at what the tax code would look like if they eliminate all the tax deductions, exemptions and exclusions--known collectively as tax expenditures -- for individuals and corporations.Their elimination would raise an estimated $12 trillion in revenue over 10 years, Baucus saidThey've asked other senators on the committee, along with the rest of the Senate, to let them know which tax expenditures they want restored.Baucus said he hopes to have a committee bill draft drafted by later this fall.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) Visit The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) at www.mtstandard.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage