Bipartisan pair pushes for tax reform

A Democratic senator and Republican congressman are pressing President Obama to make tax reform a priority this year. 

In a release issued Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) said the tax reform enacted under President Reagan’s watch a quarter-century ago provided a model and said an overhauled tax code would make life easier for families and make U.S. businesses more competitive. 

Wyden and Tiberi said the federal tax code is “too complex” and “stifling economic growth and job creation.”

“We understand the temptation to believe that Congress can’t pass anything significant this year, but now is not the time to think small and shy away from tackling the nation’s biggest problems,” Wyden and Tiberi said in a statement. “Democrats and Republicans may not be able to agree on everything, but they can agree that the tax code needs fixing.”

A number of officials on both sides of the aisle have said they think that a reformed tax code would help spark economic growth. Over the weekend, the president called creating jobs and ensuring competitiveness his No. 1 priority in video message previewing his State of the Union address.  

Wyden has called for tax reform for years, while Tiberi is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee’s Select Revenue subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over federal tax policy.