That's a "general" description all right. However I'm more concerned about what the politicians DO - not what they SAY.

Well, a lot of this is technical clean up, but the provisions that affect high income individuals are great.

Isn't it refreshing to see tax reform that does not contain more relief for the very rich.

The chances of any of this becoming law are slim and none. Remember, "that government which robs Peter to pay Paul will generally have the support of Paul" Or, that government which increases taxes for middle income working families and reduces critical services for low income families to provide lower taxes for billionaires will generally have the support of billionaires.

I found this interesting...looks like it will hit the middle class pretty hard...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100201/us/usreport_us_budget_backdoortaxes

I'm not sure I have a well-thought-out view on this, but it is interesting that many of the same people who think a higher minimum wage is a good thing also think that a tax incentive (effectively lowering wages) will produce more jobs.

"I'm not sure I have a well-thought-out view on this, but it is interesting that many of the same people who think a higher minimum wage is a good thing also think that a tax incentive (effectively lowering wages) will produce more jobs."

My understanding is that the tax code is an insane thousands of pages long that no one person can read or comprehend, and most of that is owing to political favors debts, or countless attempts to affect or effect this or that social or economic policy. Just about nothing could be less "well-thought-out" than that.

I wish we could just get to a simple system where you just have a percentage of your pay taken and thats it. Just like FICA, but it includes everything you would pay in taxes.
Whatever that percentage would be...15%...20%...whatever. No more filing, tax forms, etc. And no more getting out of it by deductions, loopholes, etc.

I found this interesting...looks like it will hit the middle class pretty hard...

That story was pulled by Reuters saying the White House claims it was inaccurate. So, was it pulled for inaccuracies? Or damage control?
The gist of the story is that letting the Bush tax cuts expire will lay heavy on the middle class. People are saying that this administration will not let them expire. That could prove to be unpopular with the left.

Thanks,Jon.

Let’s hear it for Jon. The spaghetti mess tax system is losing all credibility. It’s made any serious public policy debate or comprehension almost impossible. There is no public confidence.

Everyone is so confused that they distrust the system and assume that some way, some how they are getting screwed and the guy behind the tree is getting all the breaks, due to the ever so many exclusions/inclusions, phase ins/phase outs, alternative minima/limited maxima, credits/surcharges, incentives/disincentives, loopholes/deductions, that have been made in the one-for-you, one-for-me collective gift giving machine that stands in for government in these United States.

Tax reform/simplification is an absolute necessity. It’s been two decades since reform eliminated some of the most egregious distortions and give ways (Does anyone remember what double declining balance depreciation is? Does anyone have a clue how much worse the great recession meltdown could have been if this real estate investment incentive were still on the books?).

The tax code is a tangled morass that strangles itself.