Tax reform includes both a carrot and a stick. The carrot is lower tax rates. The stick is the elimination of tax benefits to pay for lower rates. Finding the balance between the two is what lawmakers will have to do if they want to overhaul the federal tax laws.
Unless they decide to dispense with the stick.
In 1986, the last time full-scale tax reform was successfully attempted, lawmakers and the Reagan administration struggled to find enough revenue to pay for deep rate cuts. That epic legislative saga can be convincingly retold by mapping the ups and downs of important tax increases. When new revenue sources were found, the enterprise moved ahead. It came close to failure every time revenue increases were rejected.
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