Along with all the festive holiday preparations that come at the end of the year, taxpayers take stock of their annual earnings, investments, charitable contributions, depreciations and other financial transactions as they pertain to their 2004 federal tax returns.
Some taxpayers may rank Uncle Sam alongside the likes of Uncle Scrooge. It’s likely more than a few taxpayers will find themselves muttering "Bah Humbug" as they organize receipts and sift through other financial papers.
It doesn’t help matters that the rules and regulations enforcing the federal tax code are virtually incomprehensible to most taxpaying Americans. The sheer complexity of the nation’s tax laws is one of the primary reasons President Bush would like to overhaul the tax system and replace it with a simpler and fairer way to collect revenue.
As chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, I agree the tax code is in dire need of an overhaul. For too long, lawmakers have been tinkering under the hood. Since the President was first elected, we have made progress towards making the federal income tax less burdensome and more progressive. But we need a tax system that will grease the wheels for economic growth and fuel job creation in the long-term. We don’t need a stop-and-go approach that creates roadblocks for working families, entrepreneurs, small business owners and investors. Keeping the U.S. economy as competitive as possible also needs to be a primary driving force behind a re-write of the nation’s tax laws.
The President will convene an economic conference in December to gather input from key leaders in government and the private sector. Staging the event at the White House will help trigger momentum necessary to gain consensus among taxpaying Americans and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
On top of the two-day policy forum, the president by year’s end also will appoint a bipartisan advisory panel tasked with drafting a plan for overhauling the tax code.
I welcome the president’s leadership on this issue. Upon his re-election to a second term, the president said he’s earned political capital. And he says he’s willing to spend it to move forward with visionary plans to overhaul the federal tax code and the nation’s public retirement system.
Iowans also rehired me in November to another six-year term in the U.S. Senate. My chairmanship of the Finance Committee gives Iowans a front-row seat at the policy tables during these debates.
I’ve encouraged the White House to act sooner rather than later to get the ball rolling. We have a unique opportunity during the 109th Congress to act on these major domestic policy issues.
Delaying serious discussion too far into the president’s second term would only invite partisan gridlock and spoil sincere efforts to simplify the tax code and save Social Security once and for all.