In a previous post, I corrected John Boehner's remarks before a group of business leaders in Cleveland in which he took shots at Obama administration officials and uttered some incorrect talking points on how "small businesses" would be hit by the expiration of the Bush taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. cuts.
But as CRFB points out, other parts of Boehner's speech opened up the possibility that bipartisan fundamental tax reform could be a possibility at a time when it is highly needed.
We need to take a long and hard look at the undergrowth of deductions, credits, and special carveouts that our tax code has become.
And, yes, we need to acknowledge that what Washington sometimes calls 'tax cuts' are really just poorly disguised spending programs that expand the role of government in the lives of individuals and employers.
It was the late Jack Kemp who said, 'not all tax cuts are created equal.' We need to bring simplicity and certainty to our tax code so we can make it a vehicle for sustainable pro-growth policies, not transfer payments to the favored few.
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