(updated with correction)
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, said Tuesday that simplification, increased participation and proper targeting of tax incentives should be prerequisites for increasing retirement savings through tax reform.
“We are taking the time to lay the foundation for comprehensive tax reform,” Mr. Camp said at a committee hearing.
Officials from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, American Benefits Council, Employee Benefit Research Institute and Heritage Foundation urged the committee to protect tax incentives for individuals and their employers to contribute to retirement accounts, which they said would more than offset any gains from reducing or eliminating tax incentives.
“The first principle when considering any changes is, first do no harm,” said Randolf H. Hardock, managing partner of law firm Davis & Harman, on behalf of the American Benefits Council.
Panelists argued against recent tax reform proposals from the White House and some members of Congress to reduce or eliminate some retirement savings tax deductions.
“It would be double taxation, because it is a deferral,” said Judy Miller, ASPPA chief of actuarial issues and director of retirement policy. “Every single dollar that is exempt from tax now will be taxed later.”
