Thursday, October 27, 2005

A good idea catching on?

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has just released a tax reform plan, about which I don't know anything beyond what it says in this description from his website. Whether or not it merits attention, one feature of interest is a proposed refundable credit for state and local taxes.

The Tax Reform Commission likewise proposes credits (although not refundable ones) in lieu of certain personal deductions under current law. So perhaps the idea is starting to catch on a bit, which is all to the good.

If I remember correctly, the Bradley-Gephardt tax reform plan of 1984, which influenced the Tax Reform Act of 1986, used percentage credits in lieu of certain personal deductions. But the idea then disappeared from tax reform agendas for the next twenty years. Score it as one good idea that can raise revenue while also, just maybe, not being politically impossible.

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