The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, known as the Bush tax cuts, are set to expire Dec. 31, and the fight over what to do is increasingly heated. Should the tax cuts expire, as some Democrats have said? Should they be extended, as most Republicans maintain? Or does the answer lie somewhere in...
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...
Policymakers should be thinking hard about low-income families with children and the tax code. In 2010, the federal income tax system will deliver substantial assistance to these families through refundable tax credits. The Tax Policy Center estimates a third fewer children would be in poverty...
The Wyden-Gregg tax reform proposal would represent a broad reform of the federal income tax system. This paper examines the plan's impact on individuals' effective marginal tax rates (EMTR), the incremental amount of tax owed on an additional dollar of income. We examine the impact on the EMTR...
Institute Fellow Gene Steuerle testifies on tax reform, its role in budget reform, deficits, income distribution issues, tax gaps, and budget expenditures. Real budget reform, he says, means lower taxes and better spending.
The reduction in individual income tax rates and the other tax cut provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003 were "sunset" at the end of 2010. Unless Congress acts to delay the expiration of the rate reductions, the top individual rate will rise from 35% in 2010 to 39.6% for 2011 and later years.
During the recent tax filing season, cable news and talk radio repeatedly discussed the Tax Policy Center's (TPC's) estimate that 47 percent of Americans would pay no federal income tax for 2009. However much of the commentary failed to explain why.
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...
Five Myths about the Bush Tax Cut
The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, known as the Bush tax cuts, are set to expire Dec. 31, and the fight over what to do is increasingly heated. Should the tax cuts expire, as some Democrats have said? Should they be extended, as most Republicans maintain? Or does the answer lie somewhere in...
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...
Extending Tax Credits for Low-Income Families
Policymakers should be thinking hard about low-income families with children and the tax code. In 2010, the federal income tax system will deliver substantial assistance to these families through refundable tax credits. The Tax Policy Center estimates a third fewer children would be in poverty...
The Impact of the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg") on Effective Marginal Tax Rates
The Wyden-Gregg tax reform proposal would represent a broad reform of the federal income tax system. This paper examines the plan's impact on individuals' effective marginal tax rates (EMTR), the incremental amount of tax owed on an additional dollar of income. We examine the impact on the EMTR...
The Future of Individual Tax Rates: Effects of Economic Growth and Distribution
Leonard Burman's testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance on whether and how to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
The Future of Individual Tax Rates: Effects on Growth and Distribution
Donald Marron's testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance on the individual tax system.
Reforming Taxes as Part of Budget Reform
Institute Fellow Gene Steuerle testifies on tax reform, its role in budget reform, deficits, income distribution issues, tax gaps, and budget expenditures. Real budget reform, he says, means lower taxes and better spending.
Top Federal Individual Income Tax Rates
The reduction in individual income tax rates and the other tax cut provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003 were "sunset" at the end of 2010. Unless Congress acts to delay the expiration of the rate reductions, the top individual rate will rise from 35% in 2010 to 39.6% for 2011 and later years.
Why Nearly Half of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax
During the recent tax filing season, cable news and talk radio repeatedly discussed the Tax Policy Center's (TPC's) estimate that 47 percent of Americans would pay no federal income tax for 2009. However much of the commentary failed to explain why.
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...