Bush Tax Plan Must Create Losers, Rostenkowski Says

NEW YORK -- Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski and former Sen. Robert Packwood caution that any tax cuts the panel President Bush appointed to revisit the U.S. tax code issue will have to be matched by increases in other levies, Bloomberg News reported.

Bush's tax panel, which meets Wednesday for the first time, will be constrained by a record budget deficit, mounting war costs and a $2 trillion proposal to restructure Social Security.

“Since I left 10 years ago, it's been so goddamn easy to cut taxes,'' said Rostenkowski, the Illinois Democrat who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee and who formed an alliance with Republican President Reagan to pass the 1986 law. “It's so easy to walk around with sugar. It's when you administer the vinegar that shows the chemistry and aptitude of the legislator.''

Bush has instructed his nine-member panel, led by former Republican Sen. Connie Mack and former Democratic Sen. John Breaux, to recommend ways to simplify the tax code by July 31. Bush wants the changes to reduce burdens on taxpayers and the economy without adding to the deficit. The president also asked the panel to preserve deductions for charitable giving and mortgage interest.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 2/16/05