Introduction to the Edwin S. Cohen Tax Symposium: An Overview of Business Taxation

It is an honor and pleasure for me to be here today to launch this symposium on current tax reform topics in honor of Edwin S. Cohen on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Virginia as Professor of Law. This is the second occasion I have been asked to speak honoring Ed Cohen on his retirement and, knowing him well, I look forward to many more of his retirements in years ahead. My assignment today is to provide a brief overview of issues in business taxation. I was tempted simply to repeat the program for this symposium, but I now understand that this is not what the planners of this conference had in mind. Let me instead then simply outline the handful of critical factors that I believe will (or should) direct the current legislative effort at reforming the taxation of business income