Here are a dozen reasons why the tax overhaul plan that House Ways and Means chairman Dave Camp of Michigan released last week -- or, indeed, any bill labeled "tax reform" -- will not pass this year:It is an election year, and lawmakers don't take risks in election years. The economic recovery, while not robust, isn't weak enough to prompt substantial changes in the tax code.Camp's involvement in the movement to stop new IRS regulations governing social-welfare groups alienates some lawmakers and provides an excuse to spurn his tax proposal. Some Republicans won't support Camp's drive even if they agree with his precepts because they don't want to be identified with a proposal that has few prospects in the Senate.
Why tax reform is doomed