Bruce Bartlett argues today that tax reform is a nonstarter this year. It’s insanely complicated; nothing exists even in draft form yet; and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp is busy thinking about a plan to run for the Senate in 2014:
Consequently, the idea that there will be a tax reform bill for the House to consider by the time it must raise the debt limit is ludicrous….Personally, I think Mr. Camp knows full well that he can’t do tax reform this year or next. He just wants a bill for Congress to consider so that there will be many opportunities to meet with lobbyists about their objections to one provision or another. This will help him raise campaign contributions for his very expensive Senate race.
This is your cynicism alert for the day. Which isn’t to say it’s wrong, of course.
