Americans for Tax Reform sent the following letter to Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today expressing measured support for the "blank slate" approach to tax reform. The full letter can be found here. Below is an excerpt:
A revenue-neutral reform target is an absolutely essential precondition to any tax reform plan. Tax reform should not be a stalking horse for a net tax increase. Any tax reform plan should bring in no more tax revenue than the current system is projected to collect. Any additional tax revenues should come as a result of faster economic growth from reform, not from legislated tax increases. This was a key element of the 1986 Tax Reform Act. 219 congressmen and 39 senators have made this commitment to their constituents—in writing—before standing for election. The Taxpayer Protection Pledge facilitates real, sustainable tax reform.
A comprehensive income tax base is the wrong starting point. This income tax base double-taxes savings, biases in favor of debt over equity financing, and unfortunately is the starting point for the effort you’re undertaking here. A more reasonable tax base to use would be one that taxes all consumed income once and only once. The choice of tax base is absolutely critical to whether a tax reform plan maximizes economic growth or not.