Activist Fiscal Policy to Stabilize Economic Activity

Facing the most severe recession since the 1930s, and probably the longest as well, the U.S. government has adopted an aggressive countercyclical fiscal policy stance. Congress enacted the "Economic Stimulus Act of 2008" in February of that year, shortly after the recession's designated starting date and followed up a year later with the much larger "American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009." Although adopted under different presidents, both bills provided temporary tax rebates for households and temporary investment incentives for firms, indicating at least limited bipartisan acceptance of these approaches to countercyclical stimulus.

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AMT Coverage by State, 2007

More than 4 million taxpayers--4.2 percent--paid the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in 2007. This Tax Fact shows that the percentage of taxpayers subject to the AMT differed greatly across states, ranging from 8.7 percent in New Jersey to 1.3 percent in Alaska.

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