In his year-end news conference today, President Obama rejected the idea that his nomination of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) to serve as ambassador to China would damage the cause of tax reform next year in Congress.

Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been the leading Senate Democratic proponent of major tax reform legislation, working with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) to convince Congress and the public that fundamental reforms are needed to make the U.S. more globally competitive.

When news of the Baucus' pending ambassadorship got out this week, the Washington speculation machine quickly lept into action: Without Baucus, tax reform is dead!

The President rejected that notion today.

If Democrats and Republicans are "serious about tax reform," Obama said, then it's “not going to depend on one guy, it’s going to depend on all of us working together."

And, as Bloomberg/Businessweek reports, Obama said that “My office is ready, willing and eager” to discuss making the tax system more fair and helping middle-class families.

The President has expressed support for lowering the top corporate tax rate to improve U.S. competitiveness -- the United States now has the highest corporate tax rate among major economies -- and the White House has expressed its interest in modernizing our system of taxing global earnings. Given the President's restated, and strong, support today for tax reform, 2014 could turn out to be a very good year for legislative action to create a better economic environment for investment and hiring.