Max Baucus and Dave Camp

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Max Baucus and Dave Camp

Max Baucus, chairman, Senate Finance Committee; Dave Camp, chairman, House Ways and Means Committee

Max Baucus and Dave Camp

The heads of the two tax-writing committees of Congress have this year continued their commitment to advancing the US tax reform debate with the same zeal and fervour that we have come to expect from such figures, Baucus having held his committee chairmanships for more than eight years, cumulatively over the course of the 107th, 110th, 111th, 112th and 113th Congresses (with Senator Chuck Grassley having a term in between).

Baucus released a tax reform discussion draft in November outlining specific actions such as a change in the way income earned by foreign subsidiaries of US companies is treated for tax purposes, and while the Montana Democrat has conceded that getting the US corporate tax rate down to 25% (in line with the OECD average and the rate favoured by businesses and the Obama Administration) will be “a bit of a stretch” he continues to press for a solution.

Camp is a staunch advocate of moving the US away from its current worldwide system of taxation, which he says makes America less competitive in the global marketplace, and transitioning to a territorial system. He has described this as a critical component of comprehensive tax reform.

Individually their efforts have been huge - as has been recognised by their appearances in this list in previous years (Baucus in 2010 and 2012; Camp in 2012) - but 2013 saw the men diversify their approach to reaching bipartisan agreement on the fundamental aspects of tax reform. This diversified approach brought them closer together, as they launched joint initiatives including a nationwide tax reform road-show (The Simpler Taxes for America Tour) which saw them canvass public opinion on a united and bipartisan front, and a new website (www.TaxReform.gov) and Twitter handle (@simplertaxes) dedicated to tax reform, again inviting business and the general public to engage in the consultation process.

This last measure was inspired by the Write Rosty campaign of three decades ago, when Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee in 1986 (the last time comprehensive reform of the tax code was achieved) invited the public to write to him if they supported his efforts to reform the tax code in conjunction with President Ronald Reagan.

The recognition from Baucus and Camp of the need for public involvement, support and approval goes beyond politicking and it is hard not to get the impression that the two outgoing chairmen - Baucus is retiring from the Senate in 2015, while Camp’s term ends a year earlier - are striving hard to leave a legacy that includes bucking the trend of political stagnation that epitomises Capitol Hill right now by achieving consensus on, and then implementing, a tax code redesign for the modern world.

Further reading

US tax reform special focus

US tax reform: The long and winding road

No US tax reform before 2014 says business - despite Dave Camp’s best efforts

Baucus releases US tax reform discussion draft

Max Baucus retires: What next for US tax reform?


The Global Tax 50 2013

« Previous

Piet Battiau

View the complete list

Next »

Monica Bhatia

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The threat of 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods coincides with new Brazilian legal powers to adopt retaliatory economic measures, local experts tell ITR
The country’s chancellor appears to have backtracked from previous pillar two scepticism; in other news, Donald Trump threatened Russia with 100% tariffs
In its latest G20 update, the OECD also revealed tense discussions with the US where the ‘significant threat’ of Section 899 was highlighted
The tax agency has increased compliance yield from wealthy individuals but cannot identify how much tax is paid by UK billionaires, the committee also claimed
Saffery cautioned that documentation requirements in new government proposals must be limited if medium-sized companies are not exempted from TP
The global minimum tax deal is not viable without US participation, Friedrich Merz has argued
Section 899 of the ‘one big beautiful’ bill would have spelled disaster for many international investors into the US, but following its shelving, attention turns to the fate of the OECD’s pillars
DLA Piper’s co-head of tax for the US and Latin America tells ITR about her fervent belief in equal access to the law, loving yoga, and paternal inspirations
Tax expert Craig Hillier agrees with the comparison of pillar two to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut
The amount is reported to be up 57% from the £5.6bn that the UK tax agency believes was underpaid in the previous year
Gift this article