A very interesting analysis by Kevin Drawbaugh of Reuters argues that--despite rumblings of reforming the tax code-- negotiations between President Obama and Congress over the debt ceiling are unlikely to make the kind of overhauls called for by the Fiscal Commission (National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform). Drawbaugh notes that there simply is not enough time to make those changes before the deadline of August 2.

It does look, however, like reform of many provisions of the tax code will be central to securing a deal, in which case the changes can serve as a kind of dry run for the larger overhaul that President Obama called for in his State of the Union Address.

A great opportunity to simplify the tax code not only by closing loopholes, but also by writing any new tax legislation so that humans can better understand it and computers can better process it.  See recommendations elsewhere on this blog and at 21stcenturytaxation.com: start by using plain language in writing any new tax legislation.