Update: Finance’s Blank Slate Approach

A joint statement from Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) declared that they received “substantial feedback” from fellow senators before the July 26 deadline for “blank slate” submissions. Chairman Baucus pledged to keep the written submissions private, and a committee staff memo promised confidentiality through 2064. According to Chairman Baucus’ staff, the panel received proposals spanning more than 1,000 pages from at least 60 senators. According to news reports, 33 senators have provided highlights of their submissions to the public. Many senators ended up submitting vague proposals long on platitudes and short on specifics — or ignored it altogether. The blank slate plan was designed to force senators to wrestle with the tough choices that would come with eliminating or paring back individual tax preferences in order to bring down tax rates and the deficit (e.g. mortgage-interest deduction, R&D tax credit, etc.). The Finance Committee exercise required that tax provisions be justified based on a three-part test (i.e. grow the economy, make the tax code fairer, and/or effectively promote other important policy objectives) before they would be incorporated into a bill to reform the tax code. For more information, please contact Brian Lenihan at (202) 547-4733 or lenihanb@agc.org.