"The Senate’s chief tax writers plan to scrap the entire code and start from scratch in their push for tax reform, and on Thursday they gave lawmakers a month to make a case for preserving some of the $1.3 trillion in breaks on the books.

In a letter sent to all 98 of their colleagues, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his Republican counterpart, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), said they would take a “blank slatep” approach to the tax code that assumes the elimination of thousands of popular perks, including such sacrosanct policies as the deduction for mortgage interest, the child credit, and the lower rate for dividends and capital gains."