July 15, 2010

Senators Bennett and Begich Join Wyden-Gregg as Sponsors of Bipartisan Tax Reform

Washington, D.C. – Bipartisan support for comprehensive tax reform grew today as U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) welcomed U.S. Senators Bob Bennett (R-Utah) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) as co-sponsors of the “Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010” (S.3018). As the first major bipartisan effort to reform the tax code since 1986, Wyden-Gregg takes a comprehensive approach to reforming the tangled web of exemptions, deductions, credits and other preferences that currently clutter the U.S. tax code in order to create a simpler and fairer system that will lower taxes for working families while helping American businesses create more jobs.

“We are very excited to have Senators Bennett and Begich join us in demonstrating that not only can the Senate avoid a partisan showdown over the expiring 2001/2003 tax cuts, but that Democrats and Republicans can come together behind legislation that will make the tax code simpler and fairer for American families and businesses,” said Senators Wyden and Gregg. “Our approach replaces tax breaks for special interest groups with common-sense tax relief for working families while establishing a flat 24% corporate rate to help American businesses compete in the global market and create jobs here at home.”

“For far too long our overly-complex tax code has hindered economic growth and jeopardized the competitiveness of American businesses in the global economy,” said Bennett. “The changes proposed in this legislation are a good start to revamping our tax system so that it promotes, rather than stifles economic prosperity.”

“This tax reform bill takes the tax code out of the hands of special interests and puts it back in the hands of the people,” Sen. Begich said. “It’s focused on helping the middle class, simplifies the rate structure, reduces the deficit and gets rid of a nightmare of paperwork. Untangling the web of the IRS has long been a priority for me, and I look forward to moving this forward to help Alaskans and other Americans.”

A recent analysis done by the Tax Policy Center found that Wyden-Gregg would make the tax code more progressive than current law, ensuring tax relief for most families making up to $200,000. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=412098
A recent report put out by the Heritage Foundation predicts that Wyden-Gregg could cut the federal deficit by an average of $61 billion a year while creating an annual 2.3 million more jobs for Americans. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/05/How-Wyden-Gregg-Tax-Reform-Proposal-Affects-Taxpayers-and-Economy
Similarly, the Manufacturers Alliance recently published a paper that concludes Wyden-Gregg would ‘create nearly two million jobs on a net basis and add an extra $500 billion to GDP by 2015.’ The Alliance also found that, taking into account the positive impact of Wyden-Gregg on the economy and the budget, Wyden-Gregg would reduce the debt $1.2 trillion over the coming decade. http://www.mapi.net/MediaCenter/news/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=166

For more details on the “Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification act of 2010, visit: http://wyden.senate.gov and http://gregg.senate.gov.

Below is just some of what has been recently written about Wyden-Gregg:

What People Are Saying About Wyden-Gregg Tax Reform
(S. 3018)

“What Real Tax Reform Looks Like”
-- The Atlantic, February 26, 2010

“Miracle on the Potomac” “How To Clean Up The Tax Code”
-- Tax Notes, March 22, 2010 -- Forbes.com, February 26, 2010

Matthew Dallek writes in U.S. News & World Report that the Wyden-Gregg bill “could help trim the sizable federal deficit, simplify the tax code, and ultimately make the code fairer and more progressive.” (June 9, 2010)
George Will says “the Wyden-Gregg proposal deserves robust praise. …Wyden-Gregg may be the only serious reform ready for consideration.” (June 4, 2010)
Jeremy Leonard’s analysis of S. 3018 for the Manufacturers Alliance finds that Wyden-Gregg is a “smarter approach to business taxation ….” He concludes that Wyden-Gregg “would not only significantly boost GDP and employment, but reduce the projected federal [budget] deficit as well.” (June 2010)
Karen Campbell and Guinevere Nell of the Center for Data Analysis report that Wyden-Gregg “would free productive resources to be reinvested and spur the economy, create 2.3 million more jobs per year, and significantly reduce public debt.” (May 19, 2010)
Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times calls Wyden-Gregg “This year's most-talked-about idea ….” (April 15, 2010)
Greta Van Susteren of FOX News calls Wyden-Gregg “the type of bill we are almost craving.” (April 15, 2010)
The Concord Monitor’s editorial staff proposes that “instead of tinkering with the Kafkaesque 71.684-page tax code, lawmakers should take Gregg and Wyden’s offer to simply and reform it.” (April 14, 2010)
David Broder touts Wyden-Gregg as “a bill that could become a model for next year.” (April 11, 2010)
Diana Furchtgott-Roth writes in Tax Notes that “The Gregg-Wyden bill has a real chance of passage because … it is favored by a range of Americans across a wide political spectrum.” (March 22, 2010)
The Heritage Foundation’s Curtis Dubay concludes “the Wyden-Gregg tax reform proposal is a serious bipartisan effort to make the U.S. tax code simpler and less obstructive to economic growth.” (March 15, 2010)
Ezra Klein of the Washington Post says “It's about time [for Wyden-Gregg].” (March 14, 2010)
John Crawford writes in CQ Weekly that “people all over Washington swooned” over the introduction of Wyden-Gregg. (March 1, 2010)
Floyd Norris of the New York Times says “the Gregg-Wyden tax bill provides a road map to issues that Congress will have to grapple with if it tries to do something more than a quick patch of tax laws….The existence of this bill is a signal that some legislators want something much better [than the debate on health care]. Let’s hope they get it.” (February 26, 2010)
Tax News’s Mike Godfrey calls Wyden-Gregg “the most widespread clean-up of the U.S. tax code since the tax reform enacted under the Reagan administration in 1986.” (February 26, 2010)
Bruce Bartlett writes on Forbes.com that Wyden-Gregg is “a good start. It's realistic in its assumptions and goals and strives to be a 21st-century version of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. At a minimum it deserves serious consideration.” (February 26, 2010)
Derek Thompson of The Atlantic says “Senators Ron Wyden and Judd Gregg introduced what could be the most significant piece of tax reform in 25 years: the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010. It dramatically streamlines the tax system, eliminates key deductions, and -- crucially for taxpayers -- invites the IRS to prepare easy-to-understand tax returns for payers to read and sign.” (February 25, 2010)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce believes that “the bipartisan efforts of Senators Wyden and Gregg to begin the process to reform the tax code takes steps in the right direction ….” Martin Regalia, the Chamber’s chief economist, calls Wyden-Gregg “a great beginning….” (February 24, 2010)

· Kevin Glass of conservative website Townhall.com says Wyden-Gregg “seems like a bipartisan plan that conservatives should be able to support.” (February 23, 2010)