While everyone is focused on the polls and the dwindling chances of the Democrats to hold the Senate, on the tax policy front, it’s just horrendous, with the choices in the upcoming lame duck session of Congress verging from “bad” to “very bad”.

As usual, I turn to Citizens for Tax Justice on this. Its conclusion:

There are two types of tax legislation Congress may enact after it returns to Washington for its lame duck session in November: bad policy and extremely bad policy.

Oh, great. As in:

Let’s start with the least terrible scenario, which would involve Congress enacting the Expire Act, the “tax extender” legislation approved by the Senate in May. This bill would extend for two years a list of tax breaks so long that almost no one understands them all. (Except us, of course, see our report explaining them.)

The bill is an $85 billion deficit-financed handout to businesses at a time when lawmakers refuse to provide any help to working people hit hard by the recession unless the costs are somehow offset.

Oh, and that was the good news. The bad news:

Not satisfied with the Senate’s approach, the House voted to make several of these provisions permanent, which of course has a much bigger price tag and eliminates the possibility of ever getting rid of them, or at least reforming them. The question on everyone’s mind is whether or not House Republicans will demand that tax legislation enacted during the lame duck session must include at least some of these permanent provisions.

“Permanent’ meaning things that will continue to rob us blind for a long time.

Bring on Ebola…something we can cope with.