THE TAX-REFORM ACT OF 1986 - DID CONGRESS LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT

The Congressional consensus for tax reform in 1986 grew around two maj or principles: substantial rate reduction and improvement in horizonta l equity. Tax legislation in the early 1980s foreshadowed these princi ples, since it involved either rate reduction or base broadening (alth ough not in the same package). This article describes tax legislation that followed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 in order to see what new prin ciples, if any, emerged as important forces. The objectives of several of the current reform proposals appear to be inconsistent with those driving recent legislation and with the consensus likely to be necessa ry for fundamental tax reform. Thus, it may be a number of years befor e such a consensus develops.