Federal Tax Reform: Time to Go Back to the Drawing Board?

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Article

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Published by the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants in The CPA Journal, volume 75 issue 10, 2005. Bryant users may access this article here.

Publisher

New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants

Publication Source

The CPA Journal

Abstract

On Jan 7, 2005, Pres Bush established the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. He asked the advisory panel to recommend reforms that would promote simplicity, fairness, and economic growth. Some tax reformers prefer a small fix to a drastic overhaul. Others believe that overhauling or replacing the current tax system is not politically possible, may cause economic disruption, would require new collection mechanisms, and could create new layers of bureaucracy. Some tax reformers want to replace the current income-based tax system with a consumption-based system. Edward J. McCaffery, Robert Packard Trustee of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California, believes that individuals should pay tax when they spend, not when they work, save, give, or die. Edward D. Kleinbard, partner, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, supports a business enterprise income tax. With regard to international taxation, there are two primary systems: worldwide and territorial.

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