Sen. Wyden to focus on restoring tax breaks

Sen. Wyden to focus on restoring tax breaks

After announcements from both sides of the political line regarding an overhaul of corporate tax law, the U.S. Senate’s tax-writing committee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden has announced that the committee will not be focusing on such a change in the near future, according to Reuters. Wyden said that tax law reform would be nearly impossible in such a busy year, which will conclude with congressional elections in November. These elections will determine whether President Obama finishes the last two years of his presidency with an opposition Congress or a friendly one.

Instead, as soon as April, the committee will begin working on restoring a package of tax breaks that expired at the end of last year, according to the news source. There were approximately 50 tax breaks that expired before the start of 2014, including a number in the education, energy and business sectors. These tax breaks are typically extended year after year, with a few cuts. While Wyden wasn’t specific about which cuts might be made, he said that some energy tax extenders should be looked at.

“My hope is that we can get them re-enacted promptly,” Wyden told Bloomberg Television‘s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” “Then use them as a bridge to more comprehensive reform.”

While Obama supports corporate tax law reform, as do some republicans, Wyden told the news source that it would be a challenge to pass major changes. Eventually, he would like to get reform passed and to see individuals’ tax payments “get closer to parity between income from investment and income from wages.”

According to Reuters, Wyden is a firm opponent of lobbyist intervention in the tax code, saying “the tax code is a rotten carcass that the special interests feast on.”