Summary of Testimony of Panelists on Tax Reform Topics at Panel
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[COMMITTEE PRINT] SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY OF PANELISTS ON TAX REFORM TOPICS AT PANEL DISCUSSIONS, FEBRUARY 5 TO FEBRUARY 28, 1973 HELD BY THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS PREPARED BY THE STAFF OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTERNAL REVENUE TAXATION MARCH 5, 1973 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 91-177 WASHINGTON : 1973 JCS-8-73 i ::: —— — — CONTENTS P«ge Introduction 1 Panel Discussions by Subject Matter of Panel 5, 15, 29, 43, 51, 59, 75, 85, 93, 105, 121 Panel No. 1 Objectives and Appeoaches to Tax Reform and SlMPLEFIOATION (FeBEUART 5) Panelists Prof. Boris I. Bittker, Yale University, New Haven, Conn 5 Dr. Joseph Pechman, Brookings Institution, Wastiington, D.C 6 Prof. Dan Throop Smith, Hoover Institute, Stanford, Oalif 7 Prof. Stanley S. Surrey, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass 9 Dr. Norman Ture, economic consultant, Washington, D.C 11 Panel No. 2 Capital Gains and Losses (Febetjaey 6) Panelists Prof. Harvey D. Brazer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich..^ 15 Prof. Richard A. Musgrave, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass 19 Mr. B. Kenneth Sanden, Price Waterhouse & Co., New York, N.Y 22 Prof. Henry C. Wallich, Yale University, New Haven, Conn 25 Panel No. 3 Tax Treatment of Capital Recovery (Investment Credit, Accelerated Depeeciation, and Amortization) (Feb- ruary 7) Panelists Prof, Martin David, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis 29 Prof. Robert Eisner, Northwestern University, Evanston, 111 30 Prof. C. Lowell Harriss, Columbia University, New York, N.Y 36 Mr. John S. Nolan, Miller & Chevalier, Washington, D.C 36 Dr. Pierre A. Rinfret, Rinfret-Boston Associations, Inc., New York, N.Y 39 Panel No. 4 Tax Treatment of Real Estate (Febetjaey 8) Panelists Mr. Alan Aronsohn, Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, Sand & Berman, New York, N.Y 43 Mr. Adrian W. DeWind, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York, N.Y 44 Mr. Jerome Kurtz, Wolf, Block, Shor & Solis-Cohen, Philadelphia, Pa 45 Mr. Wallace R. Woodbury, Woodbury, Wunderli & Sorenson, Salt Lake City, Utah 47 Panel No. 5—Farm Operations (February 20) Panelists Prof. Charles Davenport, Law School, University of California at Davis, Davis, Calif 51 Prof. Roland L. Hjorth, Law School, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash 53 Mr. Herrick K. Lidstone, Battle, Fowler, Stokes & Kheel, New York, N.Y 54 Mr. Claude M. Maer, Jr., Holland & Hart, Denver, Colo 58 m :::: — —— ly CONTENTS Panel No. 6 ^Minimum Tax and Tax Shelter Devices (febettaiit20) Panelists P«so Mr. J. Waddy Bullion, Dallas, Tex 59 Mr. Wayne E. Chapman, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, N.Y 60 Mr. Milton A. Dauber, Geo Resources Management Corp., Jenkin- town. Pa 61 Mr. Martin D. Ginsburg, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York, N.Y 65 Mr. Kennetb A. Goldman, Irell & Manella, Los Angeles, Calif 66 Prof. Paul R. McDaniel, Boston College Law School, Brighton, Mass 68 Panel No. 7 Pensions, Profit-Shaking, and Deferred Compensation (February 22) Panelists Mr. Herman C. Biegel, Lee, Toomey & Kent, Washington, D.C 75 Mr. Frank Cummings, Gall, Lane, Powell & Kilcullen, Washington, D.C 76 Prof. Daniel Halperin, Law School, University of Pennsylvania, Phila- delphia, Pa 77 Prof. Dan M. McGill, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa— 80 Mr. Converse Murdoch, Murdoch, Longobardi, Schwartz & Walsh, Wilmington, Del 82 Panel No. 8—An Alternative to Tax- Exempt State and Local Bonds (February 23) Panelists Hbnorable John D. Driggs, mayor. Phoenix, Ariz 85 Mr. Harvey Galper, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C 86 Dr. Frank B. Morris, president. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, Mass 90 Mr. Wallace O. Sellers, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., New York, N.Y 91 Panel No. 9 Natural Resources (February 26) Panelists Mr. Richard J. Gonzalez, Houston, Tex 93 Prof. J. Reid Hambrick, George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C 95 Mr. John G. McLean, Continental Oil Co., Stamford, Conn 97 Mr. Willis B. Snell, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, Washington, D.C__ 98 Prof. Robert M. Spann,^ Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va 100 Prof. Arthur W. Wright,^ University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass 102 Panel No. 10 Estate and Gift Tax Revision (February 27) Panelists Dr. Gerard M. Brannon, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C 105 Mr. Bart A. Brown, Jr., Dinsmore, Shohl, Coates & Deupree, Cincin- nati, Ohio 106 Mr. Marvin K. Collie, Vinson, Elkins, Searls, Connally & Smith, Houston, Tex 107 Mr. Richard B. Covey, Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, New York, N.Y 109 Mr. James B. Lewis, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York, N.Y 114 Prof. David Westfall, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass 116 Paper submitted by Prof. A. James Casner, Law School of Harvard Uni- versity, Cambridge, Mass 117 (Note.—Professor Casner was originally scheduled to be a participant in this panel discussion, but was unable to appear.) '^ Prepared statement coauthored by Prof. Edward W. Erickson, North Carolina State University, and Prof. Stephen W. Millsaps, Appalachian State University. ^ Prepared statement coauthored by Prof. James C. Cox, University of Massachusetts. : — CONTEOSTTS V Panel No. 11 Taxation of Foreign Income (Februaey 28) Panelists I*"«e Mr. Jay W. Glasmann, Ivvins, Phillips & Barker, Washington, D.O 121 Mr. Thomas Jenks, Lee, Toomey & Kent, "Washington, D.C 122 Prof. Peggy Musgrave, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass 126 Mr. Stanford G. Ross, Caplin & Drysdale, "Washington, D.C 131 Prof. Robert B. Stobaugh, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Mass 13S Prof. Lawrence M. Stone, University of California, School of Law, Berkeley, Calif 136 Panelists Arranged Alphabetically 139 m : — INTRODUCTION In a press release dated January 24, 1973, the Committee on Ways and Means announced plans to conduct extensive panel discussions and public hearings on the subject of tax reform. It was announced that the panel discussions would begin on February 5 and that the partici- pants in these panel discussions would include only those witnesses that had been specially invited by the committee. It was also an- nounced that the second phase of the public hearings on tax reform would begin immediately upon conclusion of the panel discussions subsequently announced to begin on March 5. Panel discussions The panel discussions involved only the enumerated specific areas of tax reform, as listed in the table of contents. The procedure followed in the panel discussions was for the panelists to submit in advance a prepared statement to the committee, but to summarize their state- ments orally before the committee. At the conclusion of the summaries of all of the panelists, there was a period of discussion among the panelists on the positions they took in their statements. Then, the committee members questioned the panelists either individually or as a group. This is a summary not only of their prepared statements before the committee but also of comments made during any part of the panel discussions. General public toitnesses Although the panel discussions involved only certain specific areas of tax reform, it was announced that the second phase of the hearings would not be confined to those areas but would encompass all areas of the Internal Revenue Code, particularly concentrating on the fol- lowing major subjects as listed in the press release /. Estate and Gift Tax Revision.—This category would include but is not limited to proposals for taxing gains at death, a carryover basis of property transferred at death and other alternative treatment for transfers at death, unification of estate and gift taxes, transfers in- volving generation skipping, changes in the unlimited contribution deduction, increasing the size of the_ marital deduction, changing estate and gift tax rates and exemptions, problems of liquidity of paying estate and gift taxes, and the estate and gift tax treatment of life insurance. //. Treatment of Capital Recovery^ for Tax Purposes.—Th\B includes but is not limited to proposals with respect to the investment tax credit, additional first year depreciation allowance, accelerated de- preciation (including the 20-percent variance allowed under ADE) and the amortization provisions having expiration dates (rehabilita- tion—^low-income rental, pollution control, railroad rolling stock, coal mine safety equipment and on-the-job training and child care facili- grading and tunnel bores. ties) , and amortization of railroad 1 2 INTRODUCTION ///. Taxation of Capital Gains and Loses.—This category would include but is not limited to a discussion of the holding period for capital gains, the alternative tax for individuals, the level of exclusion (and possibility of varying it with the period the asset is held), the capital gains tax rate for corporations, capital loss carrybacks and carryovers, and the tax treatment of timber, cattle, coal and iron ore royalties, and patents. (For tax treatment of lump-sum pension treat- ment, see category below on pension and profit sharing plans.) IV. Tax Treatment of Real Estate.—This category would include but it not limited to depreciation method and life (including any distinction for this purpose between borrowings and equity) , recapture rules for excess depreciation and the treatment of interest and taxes during the period of construction. V. Natural Resources.—This category includes but is not limited to the rate of percentage depletion, intangible drilling expense and the deduction for development and other exploration costs. VI. Farm Operations.—This includes but is not limited to the treat- ment of development costs in the case of fruits and