According to the latest figures from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, American taxpayers will, on average, be sending an additional 10 percent in taxes to Washington, D.C., simply because the bipartisan tax relief expires. Said still a different way, the typical worker, every thing else being equal, will see his or her take-home pay shrink by that extra 10% in taxes.

I raise this point because we’re talking about individual income tax reform. If we are to enter the tax reform playing field, we need to know the rules, including the size of the playing field in revenue terms. Are we assuming tax reform is not possible without a record tax increase? This is a question that all policymakers should have to answer. This is a question that the presidential candidates should have to answer.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 10:54 am and is filed under Politics .