Tax Reform Road Show is now playing in Silicon Valley

Max's and Dave's Tax Reform Tour makes its third stop today and tomorrow, Aug. 19 and Aug. 20, in Northern California.

The chairmen of Congress' two tax-writing committees, Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) of House Ways and Means and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) of Senate Finance, will hear the tax code change ideas of high tech companies in Silicon Valley.

The legislative duo began their tax tour in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., area, stopping by a family owned retail operation and major manufacturer 3M. Their second stop included visits to small businesses in Philadelphia and a nearby New Jersey suburb.

Max and Dave should get a new tax perspective on this trip as they meet with representatives from high tech companies in Silicon Valley.

This afternoon they are dropping by the San Francisco headquarters of Square, the company that created the credit card reader that just about anyone can plug into a smartphone in order to take credit card payments.

Tuesday, Baucus and Camp will hear from company executives and employees at Intel's Santa Clara office.

High tech tax needs: Citing the innovation that's come from Silicon Valley, Baucus and Camp
noted in a joint statement that "tax reform can fuel new research and
development" and "make U.S.
businesses more competitive at home and in the global marketplace."

Dean Garfield, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, elaborated on those points in an op-ed for the San Jose Mercury News in advance of the wannabe tax reformers' visit.

Calling the Internal Revenue Code "our economy's source code," Garfield suggested a major rewrite focused on three key principles:

1. A globally competitive corporate tax rate;
2. A market-based tax system that creates an incentive for U.S.-based
   businesses to invest their overseas earnings in the U.S.; and
3. Innovation tax incentives to drive new research and development.

As for the research, or R&D, component, Garfield said the tax code must be modernized to address development of new goods
and services.

"In 1981, when Congress created the current R&D
incentive, job growth followed across economic sectors. Many of our
competitors responded with R&D tax incentives that are far more
robust than that of the United States. Now, instead of having the
world's best R&D support, America ranks 27th, and is losing out on
the capital investment, economic growth and the high-wage jobs that
accompany R&D support," wrote Garfield.

Baucus and Camp should expect to hear more of the same today and tomorrow from Square and Intel.

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