Congressional tax writers are nearing the end of a two-year process of setting the stage for tax reform through hearings and discussion drafts, but have yet to announce any plan to actually begin marking up a bill.
The tax working groups organized by the House Ways and Means Committee completed their work with the recent release of the Joint Committee on Taxation report on their findings, and Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has indicated he is done releasing discussion drafts. The Senate Finance Committee is also scheduled to release its final paper on tax reform options this week. Still, both Camp and Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., have declined to set a timetable for releasing a tax reform bill, though each has said he hopes to pass a bill out of committee before the end of the year.
Republicans have discussed creating a framework for tax reform as part of the next increase in the federal debt limit, but Treasury is not expected to reach the debt limit until October or November, and the administration opposes tying the debt limit to tax reform.
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