This year marks the 100th Anniversary of California's initiative process. In 1911, California famously adopted the direct initiative process and ballot box decision-making has become almost as synonymous with the Golden State as beaches, hi-tech innovation, and Hollywood. While 75% of voters in...
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of California's initiative process. In 1911, California famously adopted the direct initiative process and ballot box decision-making has become almost as synonymous with the Golden State as beaches, hi-tech innovation, and Hollywood. While 75% of voters in...
The often overlooked municipal debt market has attracted considerable attention lately amid predictions of widespread local government defaults and changes to the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds. This paper explains essential features of muni bonds and assesses recent policy and market...
The current economic downturn has resulted in a sharp decline in state tax revenues. Forty-six states faced budget shortfalls when passing their fiscal year (FY) 2011 budgets, and 17 states reported shortfalls of more than 20 percent. According to the National Association of State Budget...
As the US housing market experiences its largest contraction since the Great Depression, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center took a closer look at the consequences of this crisis for state and local governments in a May 2010 conference.This article...
The U.S. faces a large medium-term federal budget deficit and an unsustainable long-term fiscal gap. Left unattended, these shortfalls will hobble and eventually cripple the economy. The only plausible way to close the gap is through a combination of spending cuts and/or tax increases. This...
The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg," introduced as S. 3018) is a broad reform of the federal income tax system. Some provisions would also expand the Social Security payroll tax base. This paper presents the Tax Policy Center's estimates of the revenue and...
Personal income tax systems vary widely across states, leading to different levels of progressivity. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have an individual income tax. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax personal income, while New...
This article, written for a lay audience, discusses the causes and consequences of catastrophic budget failure. When Americas ballooning federal debt becomes unmanageable, we might simply refuse to honor our obligations, triggering a worldwide financial collapse and an economic downtown that...
Ted Gayer testified before the Senate Energy Committee that a carbon tax is the most economically efficient way to address climate change. While it might be politically unpopular, he says, it is well worth considering because it helps generate public revenues that can be used to offset...
California's Initiative Turns 100: What's the Single Best Thing We Can Do to Improve the Initiative Process? Make it harder.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of California's initiative process. In 1911, California famously adopted the direct initiative process and ballot box decision-making has become almost as synonymous with the Golden State as beaches, hi-tech innovation, and Hollywood. While 75% of voters in...
California's Initiative Turns 100: Initiatives Aren't as Bad as You Think
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of California's initiative process. In 1911, California famously adopted the direct initiative process and ballot box decision-making has become almost as synonymous with the Golden State as beaches, hi-tech innovation, and Hollywood. While 75% of voters in...
Buy and Hold (on Tight): The Recent Muni Bond Rollercoaster and What It Means for Cities
The often overlooked municipal debt market has attracted considerable attention lately amid predictions of widespread local government defaults and changes to the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds. This paper explains essential features of muni bonds and assesses recent policy and market...
State Revenue Responses to Fiscal Shortfalls
The current economic downturn has resulted in a sharp decline in state tax revenues. Forty-six states faced budget shortfalls when passing their fiscal year (FY) 2011 budgets, and 17 states reported shortfalls of more than 20 percent. According to the National Association of State Budget...
What the Housing Crisis Means for State and Local Governments
As the US housing market experiences its largest contraction since the Great Depression, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center took a closer look at the consequences of this crisis for state and local governments in a May 2010 conference.This article...
A Value-Added Tax for the United States: Part of the Solution
The U.S. faces a large medium-term federal budget deficit and an unsustainable long-term fiscal gap. Left unattended, these shortfalls will hobble and eventually cripple the economy. The only plausible way to close the gap is through a combination of spending cuts and/or tax increases. This...
Preliminary Revenue Estimates and Distributional Analysis of the Tax Provisions in the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010
The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg," introduced as S. 3018) is a broad reform of the federal income tax system. Some provisions would also expand the Social Security payroll tax base. This paper presents the Tax Policy Center's estimates of the revenue and...
State Individual Income Tax Rates
Personal income tax systems vary widely across states, leading to different levels of progressivity. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have an individual income tax. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax personal income, while New...
Countdown to Catastrophe
This article, written for a lay audience, discusses the causes and consequences of catastrophic budget failure. When Americas ballooning federal debt becomes unmanageable, we might simply refuse to honor our obligations, triggering a worldwide financial collapse and an economic downtown that...
On the Merits of a Carbon Tax
Ted Gayer testified before the Senate Energy Committee that a carbon tax is the most economically efficient way to address climate change. While it might be politically unpopular, he says, it is well worth considering because it helps generate public revenues that can be used to offset...