MMT and Tax Policy

I just posted on my other blog about my increasing interest in Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).

As I said there, I'm still trying to get my head around all of this.  I'm particularly interested in what the theory has to say about tax policy.  I'll be posting some thoughts on this in the coming days.

In the meantime, ideas are welcome.

Baucus to China Can Only Be Good News

Max Baucus is going to become the Ambassador to China.

This can only be good from a tax reform perspective.  Baucus, as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been the driving force for tax reform in the Senate.  While I agree with some of the ideas he has proposed, most of the stuff he has proposed is gifts to corporate America.

The interesting question is who will replace him as Chairman.  From Politico:

Baucus’s departure would open up a key spot running the Senate Finance Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress given its sweeping authority over tax and health care programs. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the liberal West Virginia Democrat, is next in line to chair the panel.

Rockefeller, too, is retiring at the end of next year, and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is widely expected to take the top Democratic spot in the next Congress.

Asked if he wanted the Finance gavel after the news broke on Baucus’s potential departure, Rockefeller was coy.

“I love Commerce,” said Rockefeller, who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “We just finished a fantastic hearing. I love Commerce.”

I think it would make more sense to move Wyden up now, myself.  Wyden has made a real name for himself on the government secrecy stuff, obviously.  Maybe he'll bring that same sense to Finance.  After this, it can't get any worse.

Booman has more thoughts on this.

Tax Reform? Not So Much

On Tuesday, I noticed this in the Daily Tax Report:

"Revenue neutrality is the goal for overhauling all corporate income taxes, including taxes on international earnings, said Lily Batchelder, the chief tax counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). So, to increase revenue while comprehensively rewriting the tax code, as Baucus has said he wants to do, the burden would necessarily fall to individual taxpayers."

Given that, as a percentage of the economy, corporate profits are at record highs, and employee wages are at record lows, this sounds to me like a good reason to oppose tax reform.

Introduction

This is the second of two blogs I have.  The first one is here.

I decided to start this blog so I could have a separate venue to post my comments on developments in the tax law.  I have some rather ideosyncratic views on this topic.  Look forward to sharing them with you.