Ways and Means subcommittee to talk tax reform

The Obama administration has signaled that it believes corporate tax reform could be done separately. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the Ways and Means chairman; Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-Ohio), the chairman of the Select Revenues subcommittee; and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — have all called for more comprehensive tax reform, in part because many small businesses actually use individual rates when they file. 

Tiberi made reference to that debate in a statement announcing next week’s hearing.

“While I applaud President Obama’s interest in pursuing corporate tax reform, we cannot ignore the special problems faced by small businesses that must devote scarce resources to tax compliance and tax planning instead of to business expansion and job creation,” the congressman said. 

In a congressional hearing last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner asserted that corporate tax reform could come first, adding that Congress should perhaps examine whether certain businesses should still be allowed to be taxed at individual rates.

According to a National Federation of Independent Business survey, roughly three in four small businesses are organized as so-called pass-through entities, which makes them subject to individual tax rates.