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Committees
Play a Role in Shaping Policy
DECEMBER
2005 - When President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Tax
Reform issued its report last month, I was struck by the
similarities to the NYSSCPA’s Simple Exact Transparent
(SET) proposal, created by our Committee on Practical Tax
Reform. I wasn’t entirely surprised. The NYSSCPA’s
tax reform committee, chaired by David A. Lifson, was ahead
of the curve on certain points. For example, it made a persuasive
case for discontinuing the alternative minimum tax (AMT);
it proposed modifications to various tax credits; and it
recognized that a value-added tax (VAT) simply will not
work. These are all changes that the NYSSCPA’s committee
was calling for months before the President’s Panel
completed its work, and the Society sought out opportunities
to share its input with legislators and the media.
Hard
Work Ahead
The
NYSSCPA’s positive response to many recommendations
in the President’s Panel report notwithstanding, some
proposed changes would have significantly negative consequences
for New York State and New York City. For example, the proposed
lower cap on the deduction of mortgage interest will have
a disproportionate effect on homeowners in expensive real
estate markets, like the New York City metropolitan area,
and could potentially affect real estate values and the
broader economy.
The
President’s Panel also proposed eliminating the deduction
for state and local taxes, which will disproportionately
affect residents in New York, California, and other so-called
“blue states” with higher tax rates. We can
probably expect a long, uphill struggle to engage lawmakers
at both the state and national levels in constructive dialogue
on these points.
The
NYSSCPA’s Tax Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Richard
Hecht, began to analyze the President’s Panel report
as soon as it was released. The SET proposal, the report
of the President’s Panel, and other relevant materials
can be downloaded from www.nysscpa.org. A broad-ranging
panel discussion focused on the President’s Panel,
the SET proposal, and tax policy in general will be the
subject of an article in the February CPA Journal.
For now, the Exhibit
on the following page presents a brief comparison of the
Panel’s proposal and the NYSSCPA’s SET proposal.
The
Genius of Committees
Those
of you who serve on NYSSCPA committees should know that
your work is important and that it has impact. Assuming
a leadership position on an issue often requires time and
patience, so it’s important to recognize that committee
work has value and to always take the long view. Because
we cannot always measure a committee’s effectiveness
on an issue in one year or over the term of a single chairperson,
perspective, dedication, and level-headed perseverance are
important qualities.
Many
NYSSCPA committees demonstrate true and active leadership;
their members develop and maintain a dialogue with government
officials, agencies, and regulators and shape policies and
regulations that affect the profession, their firms, or
their industries at both the local and national levels.
The Committee on Practical Tax Reform and the Tax Division
Oversight Committee are two examples of the NYSSCPA’s
committees at their most effective: highly intelligent,
focused, and articulate people with a clear sense of purpose
and a commitment to serving the general public as well as
the accounting profession.
The
work of tax reform has only just begun. For everyone on
NYSSCPA committees who believes in the work despite the
obstacles, believe me, it’s worth it. And on behalf
of the non-CPA public who will benefit, thank you.
Louis
Grumet
Publisher, The CPA Journal
Executive Director, NYSSCPA
lgrumet@nysscpa.org
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