Richard Rubin works on Capitol Hill in Washington as a US tax policy reporter for Bloomberg News.
In Depth recently spoke with Richard to discuss his role as a tax reporter and how it intersects with other aspects of politics.
What got you into reporting on the US government – and more specifically, what drew you to your current position as a tax reporter for Bloomberg News?
I’ve always been interested in politics, policy and the way that decisions get made. Before I came to Washington, I spent six years covering local government in North Carolina, which in many ways is like Congress – just with fewer people and fewer zeroes at the end of every number.
Taxes are a fascinating subject. I’ve been writing about taxes for seven years, and I’m not bored. Everybody has an opinion about taxes, everybody cares and everybody has a personal experience to share. Tax policy can be purely transactional, so there are these intense clashes of competing interests. It can also be incredibly subjective, and I get the chance to explore issues such as fairness and inequality. At Bloomberg, we’ve got a global audience that cares deeply about the effects of tax policy, so it’s a perfect place to cover this subject.
How does tax policy interweave with other aspects of politics? How do you tackle the challenges of coordinating tax coverage with other reporters who tackle other aspects of government?
Taxes touch everything. I get to write about energy, health care and politics. And it’s not just government, either. I work all the time with our reporters who cover companies, markets and other countries. I recently wrote a story with our Intel beat writer about the research and development tax credit and how it affects the accuracy of earnings forecasts.
You recently filed a story about the creation of the 401(k). Your piece on Richard Stanger’s writing of the tax code that created the 401(k) was a meaty, in-depth story. What were the unique challenges with this one?
The real challenge on this was writing a story that is both a history piece and is relevant today because the 401(k) is such a major component of retirement planning for millions of people. It was particularly difficult because we needed to set up the context of 1978 – an era I don’t recall personally. So we had to provide enough information that readers could really understand the background that Stanger was working in without getting too bogged down in 35-year-old tax policy disputes.
What’s your coverage typically like? Do you generally do longer, enterprise pieces like the Stanger article, or is it more quick-hitting news pieces? What are the challenges of both?
I’m doing both, all the time. I’m constantly looking out for something I can write quickly — and something that will be significant enough to resonate with readers. I recently took what looked like a deletable statistical release from the IRS and used it to show how eager many wealthy Americans were to take advantage of the ability to make tax-free gifts in 2011. Those stories are tough, because I have to figure out what’s happening, show why it’s important and do it accurately before anyone else can.
I’m also always working in the background on some longer-term projects, trying to find new and different ways to show how tax policy is affecting decision-making by individuals and businesses. Those kinds of stories require patience and often repeated rethinking and rewriting. It’s a totally different mindset from a fast story.