Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the 1999 Clinton Administration proposal to create "USA" savings accounts. He concludes that the proposal for a match is one way to try to encourage greater saving, especially among the middle class, but that to be effective, a much more delicate crafting...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle considers the math behind President Clinton's proposal to spend 62 percent of the surplus on Social Security, with another share to be allocated to Medicare, and that the remaining share be spent on other items, including a subsidy for new private pension accounts...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the factors that have made the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) one of the more complicating influences on the tax code. He concludes that the individual AMT is in need of a good fix or outright elimination, and that simply indexing it is not enough.
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle comments on what makes Social security and Medicare reform suffer from the same problem that for so long made budget reform difficult. He argues that the reform efforts measure gains and losses, winners and losers, from a base of a system that is imbalanced and...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle suggests what ought to be done with expected surpluses, given the unlikelihood of a tax cut during the fiscal year in which he writes.
This paper examines the evolution of marginal federal income tax rates from 1980 to 1995. Those rates fell dramatically for most taxpayers. In 1980, three-quarters of taxpayers faced statutory tax rates above 15 percent, but by 1995, less than one-quarter of taxpayers were in that situation. The...
The debate over Social Security reform is awash with numbers on changes in tax rates, benefit reductions, and saving patterns required to bring the system into balance for the long run. In this article, Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle skips around the more elaborate calculations and presents the...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle applies a possible set of standards and principles for the development of child care tax policy to key controversial issues surrounding child care in this column.
A Government Match for Private Pension Saving?
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the 1999 Clinton Administration proposal to create "USA" savings accounts. He concludes that the proposal for a match is one way to try to encourage greater saving, especially among the middle class, but that to be effective, a much more delicate crafting...
"Spending" the Surplus: Counting the Ways
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle considers the math behind President Clinton's proposal to spend 62 percent of the surplus on Social Security, with another share to be allocated to Medicare, and that the remaining share be spent on other items, including a subsidy for new private pension accounts...
The Individual AMT: More Than a Small Fix Is Needed
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the factors that have made the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) one of the more complicating influences on the tax code. He concludes that the individual AMT is in need of a good fix or outright elimination, and that simply indexing it is not enough.
Social Security Reform: The Budget Debate All Over Again
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle comments on what makes Social security and Medicare reform suffer from the same problem that for so long made budget reform difficult. He argues that the reform efforts measure gains and losses, winners and losers, from a base of a system that is imbalanced and...
Spending Future Surpluses: A Return to Normalcy?
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle suggests what ought to be done with expected surpluses, given the unlikelihood of a tax cut during the fiscal year in which he writes.
Pension and Saving Incentives By the Bushel-Load
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle lays out the complexity of the variety of pension plans offered by policymakers.
Six Tax Laws Later
This paper examines the evolution of marginal federal income tax rates from 1980 to 1995. Those rates fell dramatically for most taxpayers. In 1980, three-quarters of taxpayers faced statutory tax rates above 15 percent, but by 1995, less than one-quarter of taxpayers were in that situation. The...
Simple Arithmetic Driving Social Security Reform, The
The debate over Social Security reform is awash with numbers on changes in tax rates, benefit reductions, and saving patterns required to bring the system into balance for the long run. In this article, Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle skips around the more elaborate calculations and presents the...
Systematic Thinking About Subsidies for Child Care (Part 3 of 3)
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle applies a possible set of standards and principles for the development of child care tax policy to key controversial issues surrounding child care in this column.
Systematic Thinking About Subsidies for Child Care (Part 2 of 3)
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle offers a set of standards and principles to guide the development of child care tax policies.