A member of the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Coons released his six-page letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee detailing his priorities for their effort to reform the nation’s tax code.
As part of their “blank slate” approach to comprehensive tax reform, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) gave their colleagues the opportunity to submit letters explaining the tax “expenditures” they’d like to see preserved or added to the tax code. Although senators were given the opportunity to submit their letters confidentially, Senator Coons volunteered to make his letter public.
“America’s tax code is too long, too complex, and unfair,” Senator Coons wrote. “It stifles economic growth and the government’s ability to efficiently collect the revenue it needs. We badly need reform that broadens the tax base and lowers tax rates, simplifying a process that wastes too much time and money, and hurts our global competitiveness. We can achieve this kind of reform by following three broad principles: a new code must maintain or increase progressivity, raise revenue to reduce our deficits, and spur economic growth.”
The letter highlghted Senator Coons’ eight priorities, saying Congress should:
- Preserve and strengthen the social safety net;
- Encourage savings for retirement;
- Protect access to affordable housing and home ownership for families, while making renting more affordable for low-income households;
- Incentivize state and local investment in infrastructure, public facilities, and community development;
- Make college more affordable;
- Broaden access to health insurance, especially by helping small businesses offset the cost of insurance for their employees;
- Support policies that help families and caregivers pay for dependents; and
- Promote a robust network of non-profit and charitable organizations.
The full text of the letter can be read below: