After being elected to serve a second term, President Bush established a panel on tax reform to make recommendations to the Treasury department on how to make the current tax system simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth. The panel is part of Bush's efforts to make tax reform a key priority in his second term. The inital goal of the tax panel was to submit recommendations to Secretary Treasurer John Snow regarding the tax code by July 31. The deadline has since been extended to September 30. These recommendations will focus on making the tax code more simple and more fair, and on increasing long-run economic growth and job creation. Chairing the panel are former Senators Connie Mack (R-FL) and John Breaux (D-LA). Sitting on the panel are former Representative Bill Frenzel (R-MN); former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti; chief Charles Schwab & Co. investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders; Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics and Political Science Elizabeth Garrett; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution Edward Lazear; former Chairman of the FTC Timothy Muris; and MIT Economics Professor James Poterba. Below is a list of each public meeting held to date, as well as links to all materials from the meetings and a brief synopsis of what was covered. 5/12/05 Meeting National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center Auditorium, Washington, D.C. Witness Testimonies:

Glenn Hubbard

Alvin Warren

Kenneth Gideon

David Shakow

Edward Kleinbard

James Hines, Jr.

Stephen Shay

Additional Statements:

Connie Mack

The second day of this meeting focused on how the tax code should tax both businesses and international transactions. The panel heard testimony from various individuals in the business sector who discussed their perspectives on business tax reform. Witnesses also discussed business tax simplification as well as the taxation of earned income abroad and cross-border investment. 5/11/05 Meeting National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center Auditorium, Washington, D.C. Witness Testimonies:

Charles McClure

Michael Graetz

Ernest Christian

Barry Rogstad

Edward McCaffery

David Burton

John Podesta

Paul Weinstein

Chris Edwards

Jim Baker

Edgar Feige

Roland Boucher

David Miller

David Hartman

Norman Kurland

Robert Hall

Stephen Moore

Richard Armey

Steve Forbes

Additional Statements:

Connie Mack

This meeting marked a shift in focus for the tax panel. During the first phase of meetings, the panel examined the tax code as it is and heard from experts on the various problems created by provisions in the tax code. The second phase of meetings has the panel considering different options for reform. At this meeting the panel was presented with major reform proposals from a number of advocates, and panel members were able to question their reform plans and offer their insight into why the proposals may or may not work in our society. The panel heard from twenty witnesses over the course of the day. Three groups of witnesses testified in the morning; the first testified on the features and merits of the value added tax, the second on a consumed income tax, and the third on a national retail sales tax. In the afternoon, the witnesses testified on changing the tax code while keeping its current structure, the flat tax, and also individual proposals which were submitted to the panel during their comment period. 4/18/05 Meeting University of Maryland University College Witness Testimonies:

Andrew Lyon

Kevin Hassett

Bruce Johnson

Harley Duncan

Timothy Firestine

Robert Schwab

Additional Statements:

Connie Mack

The panel held this meeting in order to gain a better understanding of business investment, as well as state and local tax systems, and how they work along with the federal tax code. The first panel, on how taxes affect business investment, examined how the tax system affected business decisions to invest in technology, as well as how reform might lead to greater productivity and growth. The second panel, on state and local taxes, looked at how the states impose sales and income taxes, as well as how various reform possibilities to the federal tax code would affect state and local tax systems. 3/31/05 Meeting Fort Mason Center, Landmark Building A; San Francisco, CA Witness Testimonies:

Willard Taylor

Mihir Desai

Jeffrey Owens

Larry Langdon

Paul Otellini

Robert Grady

Michael Boskin

Alan Auerbach

Additional Statements:

Connie Mack

The last meeting held by the Tax Panel in San Francisco focused on how our tax system works to influence both economic growth and international competitiveness. Two panels of witnesses testified before the committee; one on the international tax system and the other on how taxes affect business decisions. One of the goals of this meeting was to turn away from looking specifically at the individual income tax, and to look at taxes in a much broader, international scope. Milton Freidman, a professor, Nobel Prize winner, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institute spoke at this meeting on "Perspectives on Tax Reform." 3/23/05 Meeting Louisiana Children's Museum; New Orleans, LA Witness Testimonies:

Robert Greenstein

William Beach

Hilary Hoynes

Mark Moreau

David Marzahi

Eugene Steuerle

Mark Pauly

James Alm

Additional Statements:

John Breaux

John Neely Kennedy

This public meeting focused on public perceptions regarding the fairness of the tax code as well as how the tax system affects families. Three separate panels of witnesses testified before the committee; one on measuring fairness in the tax system, one on low-income tax payers, and the last one on tax treatment of families. John Breaux stated that in order to even begin "thinking about ways to reform the tax code, we must understand how to think about fairness, including how it can be measured and perceptions about it in our current tax laws." Tax cuts, exemptions, and benefits are often provided to try to bring about greater fairness in the system, so in this meeting the panel explored which aspects in the tax system work to bring fairness, and which are perhaps more unfair to working taxpayers in America. 3/16/05 Meeting University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Gleacher Center; Chicago, IL Witness Testimonies:

James Heckman

Brian Wesbury

Kathryn Kennedy

Susan Dynarsky

Armond Dinvero

Robert McDonald

David Weisbach

Additional Statements:

Connie Mack

Mayor Richard Daley

This meeting heard from three separate panels of witnesses. They testified on how individual decisions play into taxation, investment alternatives, and taxation and financial instruments. The goal of the meeting was to see how tax laws impact decisions made by taxpayers. Because the tax code is so complex, there is widespread belief that the complexity impacts people's decision making. 3/08/05 Meeting SAGO Networks; Tampa, FL Witness Testimonies:

Jack Levin and Donal Rocap

Douglas Shackelford

William Gentry

Roger Harris

Todd Flemming

David Hurley

Donald Bruce Additional Statements:

Sam Gibbons

Connie Mack The third public meeting focused on how our tax system affects businesses and entrepreneurs. Members of the panel heard from two separate panels of witnesses; the first spoke on corporate income taxes, and the second on the impacts of taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs. The third meeting focused on this partly becuas of the panel's belief that small businesses and self-employed taxpayers are disproportionally burdened by the complexity of the tax code, and bear a substantial proportion of the estimated $125 billion in compliance costs. For a fact sheet submitted to the panel on how taxes affect investment and entrepreneurship, click here. 3/03/05 Meeting The George Washington University Jack Morton Auditorium; Washington, DC Witness Testimonies:

Nina Olson

Joel Slemrod

Leonard Burman

Claudia Hill

Additional Statements:

Thomas Rinaldi

James Baker, III

Mark Everson

Connie Mack

Written Statement by Alan Greenspan

Comment from Alan Greenspan

The witnesses at this second meeting of the tax panel generally provided their respective views of the problems presented by complexity in the tax system. As Connie Mack stated, the purpose of the meeting was to "put the problems of our tax code I sharper focus." The alternative minimum tax was also discussed in detail in this meeting, as it is currently one of the biggest problems facing thousands of taxpayers, and will be extremely costly to reform. 2/16/05 Meeting Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center; Washington, DC Witness Testimonies:

Fred Goldberg, Jr.

Louis Kaplow

William Gale

Stephen Entin

Additional Statements:

John Snow

Connie Mack

John Breaux

The panel heard from the witnesses listed above as well as Treasury Secretary John Snow, to whom they will eventually be submitting recommendations (see transcript). During their Testimonies, the witnesses for the most part described the history of the federal income tax system as well as the differences between income taxes and consumption taxes, and how they affect our economy and impact the people who pay them.