Congress can't afford to go halfway on tax reform

The tax reform train is about to leave the station. But when it reaches its final destination — President Trump's desk — what will it look like?

On July 27, the drumbeat for reform hit another positive note when the Trump Administration, Congressional leadership, and the chairs of the Senate and House tax writing committees (the so-called "Big Six") joined forces to release a joint statementoutlining their common position on comprehensive tax reform. This collaborative effort should go a long way toward building consensus and momentum as lawmakers enter the August recess.

The reasons we need a plan with real horsepower are well-known. They include a high corporate tax rate that compares poorly to our competitors, a clumsy and outdated worldwide system of taxation that hamstrings American businesses, and a complicated individual tax system that hurts small businesses and drives taxpayers crazy.

The solutions are just as well known. Lower the tax rates on corporations and small businesses, reduce individual rates, and simplify the code. Join every other advanced economy and move to a territorial tax system (so that foreign earnings are not taxed once overseas and then again when they are brought home). Give the economy a boost by accelerating the write-off of all capital investments.

These approaches to generating sustained economic growth have deep roots, including my work as Executive Director of President George W. Bush's Panel on Federal Tax Reform. They are also close to the principles outlined in the Big Six's preferred reform plan, which "reduces tax rates as much as possible, allows unprecedented capital expensing [for businesses], places a priority on permanence, and creates a system that encourages American companies to bring back jobs and profits trapped overseas."