FALLS CHURCH, VA — In light of contradictory remarks by top Democrats on whether policymakers should extend all or just some of the Bush tax cuts, and when, to avoid the “fiscal cliff” at the end of 2012, Tax Analysts president and publisher Christopher Bergin issued the following statement:

"The Democrats’ zeal to tax the rich and the Republicans’ stubborn refusal to concede on any tax increase is more political theater at a time when we need lawmakers to do the work that we elected them to do. Whether you define the wealthy as a family making $250,000 or $1 million a year is irrelevant. The true discussion should focus on the impact of the growing number of stopgap, temporary tax measures on our fiscal future. Lawmakers continue to address tax policy with a response that’s akin to a political finger in the dike. The proliferation of temporary measures in the tax code makes it impossible for individuals and businesses to plan for the future and hurts our economy over the long term. Congress must find a way to put partisanship aside and fix the tax code.”

This week, Tax Analysts holds a roundtable discussion that’s closely related to this issue and that Bergin will moderate. The event, entitled Taxes and the Rich, will take place Friday, June 15 at the National Press Club from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and will feature Leonard E. Burman, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse; Robert Carroll, principal of the National Tax Department of Ernst & Young LLP; and Joseph Thorndike, director of Tax Analysts’ Tax History Project and a contributing editor to Tax Analysts. A live, audio stream of the event is available at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/taxesandtherich.

Media Notes: To schedule an interview with Mr. Bergin, please contact Wendy Harris at 703-533-4404 or Jennifer Devlin at 703-876-1714.