Tax Reform: sunset requirement on every provision?

Clean Up As You Cook

By Paul Glastris (Washington Monthly)

Every generation, official Washington suddenly notices that the tax code has become unfathomably complex and loophole ridden and therefore needs to be simplified for the sake of fairness and economic efficiency. Major tax reform legislation passed in 1954, 1969, and 1986, and we’re due for another round. Indeed, there seems to be enough genuine interest on both sides of the aisle that tax reform may be one of the few legislative projects that get done in the next two years.

But before we launch into yet another bout of tax reform, it’s worth asking a question: Why do we let the tax system get so cluttered in the first place? Obviously, elected officials love to use the tax code to reward interest groups and make social policy, and no power on earth could—or, really, should—keep them from doing that. But just as smart cooks learn to clean up as they go, shouldn’t it be possible for politicians to exercise a little discipline as they legislate, so that the tax code doesn’t become a complete mess and then require a vast emergency scouring?