WASHINGTON - The top Democrats in the Senate said a rewrite of the U.S. tax code should raise significant revenue, making it harder for Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to postpone a politically explosive issue.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and third-ranking Democrat Charles Schumer of New York told reporters Thursday that a starting point for a revised tax code should be the Senate-passed budget plan - opposed by Baucus - that calls for $975 billion in additional tax revenue over the next decade.
Any tax overhaul “has to be under the total understanding that this can’t be revenue-neutral,” said Reid, aNevada Democrat. “It can’t be even close to neutral. It has to be a significant tax target.”
The comments by Reid and Schumer reignited the conflict between Democratic leaders and Baucus, who has been trying to find a path to a tax rewrite that somehow reconciles Democrats’ insistence on additional revenue with Republican opposition to using the overhaul to raise funds.
Montana’s Baucus repeatedly has said he wants to work on the policy detailsof changes that would curtail tax breaks, lower rates and simplify the tax system before trying to resolve the revenue issue.
“I have always said that I think the Senate bill needs to raise revenue,” Baucus said in a statement Thursday.
“That has always been clear. As far as a number, that is still being discussed. I continue to meet with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and we are building up real momentum for tax reform.”
Front Section, Pages 7 on 07/26/2013