When the income tax was first introduced in 1913, it boasted a top rate of a mere 7 percent on those earning above $500,000 (close to $9 million in 2002 dollars). For the nation's wealthiest taxpayers, this was as good as it was ever going to get - this state of affairs lasted just three years....
[Newsday] Currently affecting only a few, mostly wealthy, taxpayers, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) will expand dramatically over the next several years, visiting high tax rates and mind-numbingly complex paperwork on unsuspecting middle-class families. Prompt action could reverse...
This was the presidential address given at the National Tax Association meeting on November 14, 2002, exploring the long term developments in public finance. In particular, it focuses on four areas: First, both external events and the advancement of knowledge have brought public finance analysis...
The United States is often said to maintain a classical tax system, under which corporate profits are subject to double taxation, once at the corporate level when they are earned, and again at the individual level when they are paid out as dividends. The Bush administration is reportedly...
Concepts of equity and fairness are at the heart of tax policy. Yet, for all its populist appeal, tax equity is loosely understood and inconsistently applied. This concept comprises at least three distinct dimensions: horizontal, vertical, and individual equity. The very real tension among these...
A perpetual policy debate surrounds the proper taxation of capital gains. One concern is that the tax creates a "lock-in effect." That is, people will hold onto assets longer than they otherwise would in order to avoid the tax. If significant, the lock-in effect would represent an undesirable...
The current economic downturn is putting heavy pressure on state budgets. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimated that as states were drawing up their fiscal year 2003 budgets, more than a quarter faced deficits exceeding 10 percent of their general fund budgets. In response,...
Despite a brief upturn in the early- to mid-1990s, the profits of nonfinancial corporations have dropped dramatically as a percentage of GDP in recent decades and are near an all-time low. Does this mean that owners of corporate capital are worse off? Not necessarily. The owners of corporations...
The practice of requiring well-to-do Americans to pay a minimum tax was developed more than three decades ago. In January, 1969, then-Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr informed Congress that 155 individual taxpayers with income exceeding $200,000 paid no tax in 1966. The news set off a political...
Originally targeted at high-income households, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) is now on the verge of switching from a "class" tax to a "mass" tax. Under current law, the AMT will encroach dramatically on the middle-class over the next decade and will become the de facto tax...
A Brief History of the Top Tax Rate
When the income tax was first introduced in 1913, it boasted a top rate of a mere 7 percent on those earning above $500,000 (close to $9 million in 2002 dollars). For the nation's wealthiest taxpayers, this was as good as it was ever going to get - this state of affairs lasted just three years....
Fix a Real Tax Mess
[Newsday] Currently affecting only a few, mostly wealthy, taxpayers, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) will expand dramatically over the next several years, visiting high tax rates and mind-numbingly complex paperwork on unsuspecting middle-class families. Prompt action could reverse...
Some Future Directions for Public Finance
This was the presidential address given at the National Tax Association meeting on November 14, 2002, exploring the long term developments in public finance. In particular, it focuses on four areas: First, both external events and the advancement of knowledge have brought public finance analysis...
About Half of Dividend Payments Do Not Face Double Taxation
The United States is often said to maintain a classical tax system, under which corporate profits are subject to double taxation, once at the corporate level when they are earned, and again at the individual level when they are paid out as dividends. The Bush administration is reportedly...
And Equal (Tax) Justice for All?
Concepts of equity and fairness are at the heart of tax policy. Yet, for all its populist appeal, tax equity is loosely understood and inconsistently applied. This concept comprises at least three distinct dimensions: horizontal, vertical, and individual equity. The very real tension among these...
Individual and Corporate Capital Gains Are Highly Correlated
A perpetual policy debate surrounds the proper taxation of capital gains. One concern is that the tax creates a "lock-in effect." That is, people will hold onto assets longer than they otherwise would in order to avoid the tax. If significant, the lock-in effect would represent an undesirable...
Use of State General Revenue for Higher Education Declines
The current economic downturn is putting heavy pressure on state budgets. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimated that as states were drawing up their fiscal year 2003 budgets, more than a quarter faced deficits exceeding 10 percent of their general fund budgets. In response,...
The Remarkable Constancy in the Income Share of Corporate Capital
Despite a brief upturn in the early- to mid-1990s, the profits of nonfinancial corporations have dropped dramatically as a percentage of GDP in recent decades and are near an all-time low. Does this mean that owners of corporate capital are worse off? Not necessarily. The owners of corporations...
The AMT: Out of Control
The practice of requiring well-to-do Americans to pay a minimum tax was developed more than three decades ago. In January, 1969, then-Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr informed Congress that 155 individual taxpayers with income exceeding $200,000 paid no tax in 1966. The news set off a political...
The Individual AMT: Problems and Potential Solutions
Originally targeted at high-income households, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) is now on the verge of switching from a "class" tax to a "mass" tax. Under current law, the AMT will encroach dramatically on the middle-class over the next decade and will become the de facto tax...