If you want to know why the tax code is so complex, ask Peter Stahley.
Stahley was a staffer for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). According to his LinkedIn profile, Stahley was “Responsible for major provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including: mineral & supply chain initiatives including IRA tax credits, federal oil and gas leasing, offshore wind and CCUS authorities, and permitting improvements.”
So Stahley was a key player in creating new tax credits. Of course the more tax credits there are, the higher the tax rates have to be in order to collect the same amount of revenues. Also, the more complex the tax code is, the more individuals and businesses need to employ lawyers, accountants, and lobbyists to navigate the tax code.
You can probably guess what Stahley’s new job is. “Peter Stahley is now a senior vice president at Cassidy & Associates,” LegiStorm reported this week.
His issue areas, according to his bio at Cassidy.com, include the tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
So Stahley wrote tax credits, and now he will get rich helping corporations pocket the tax credits.
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This is the way Washington works. Congress creates regulations, mandates, and a complex tax code, and then the members or staffers who wrote those provisions cash out to the companies they affect.
A simpler tax code would mean lower rates and a stronger economy — but not on K Street.