Wyden Calls for Tax Reform Before Tax Cut Debate

The Hill reports that Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged fellow lawmakers this week at a tax policy conference to focus on fundamental tax reform instead of the narrow debate over the expiring 2001/2003 tax cuts. Sen. Wyden is calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work together to overhaul the tax code. He has co-sponsored a tax reform proposal with Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), “The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010.”

Wyden spoke about the bill and the need for reform at CRFB’s “Getting Specific” event last week. Wyden wants tax reform to be debated during the post-election lame duck session of Congress; arguing that the debate over extending the tax cuts should serve as a “bridge” to overall tax reform.

Senator Wyden is right about the need to fix our complex and inefficient tax system in a way that simplifies the tax code and broadens the tax base. We hope his fellow lawmakers will agree as well.

A summary and video of CRFB’s “Getting Specific” event are available here.