Senators Introduce Bipartisan Tax Reform Bill

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) this week introduced the "Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010" in an effort to reduce the tax burden on middle-class families and American businesses, while eliminating "many of the tax expenditures that benefit narrow special interests."  The Wyden-Gregg proposal would eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax and reduce the number of individual tax brackets from six to three: 15 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent.  The standard tax deduction would be tripled for low- and middle-class taxpayers, and taxpayers would be able to file a simplified one-page 1040 form.  For business, the Wyden-Gregg proposal would reduce the top corporate tax rate and replace the existing six corporate rates and eight brackets with a single flat rate of 24 percent.  The proposal would also allow small businesses with gross annual receipts of up to $1 million to be able to expense permanently all equipment and inventory costs in a single year.  The 2001 and 2003 Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2010.  The Obama administration has generally proposed extending the tax cuts for low- and middle-income tax payers.