The fiscal cliff debate culminated in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). ATRA makes permanent most of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, permanently patches the alternative minimum tax, extends for five years the enhancements to individual income tax credits...
Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (Charitable Contributions) now contains 16 subsections divided into 75 paragraphs and who knows how many subparagraphs. The CCH version of Section 170 and its legislative history takes up 35 pages. In addition, much of this voluminous statute is difficult...
On January 3, 2013, the 113th session of the U.S. Congress opened with a fiscal cliff averted, but a country still stuck in a less-recognized fiscal bind. In the first video of a three-part series, Urban Institute Fellow Eugene Steuerle, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for...
With less than four weeks left, reaching an agreement to avoid the negative short-term economic impact of the so-called fiscal cliff might be beyond the ability of the strained U.S. political system.
In a contribution to USA Today, Bill Gale asserts that going over the cliff might be the only way to stimulate the economy and implement gradual, balanced fiscal consolidation over the next decade.
Surrounding many of the debates about the public sector has been one about which government level should be involved in performing which functions. As an empirical matter, both centralization and decentralization have occurred together throughout U.S. history. The vast majority of federalism...
The paper describes the current U. S. fiscal problems showing that without significant changes in revenue and spending policies, the country is headed for a sovereign debt crisis similar to that afflicting countries in Southern Europe. Various options for stabilizing the debt-GDP ratio are...
We present new estimates of the budget outlook, incorporating the latest projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Even with the economy recovering fully by 2018, current policy will result in deficits close to $9 trillion (4.5 percent of GDP) over the next decade, with the debt-to-...
Donald Marron, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, walks viewers through the anatomy of the Fiscal Cliff, explaining exactly what is at stake for Americans in various income groups.
The looming fiscal cliff threatens to boost taxes by more than $500 billion in 2013 when many temporary tax provisions are scheduled to expire. Nearly 90 percent of Americans would pay more tax, primarily because the temporary cut in Social Security taxes and many of the 2001/2003 tax cuts would...
Tax Provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA)
The fiscal cliff debate culminated in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). ATRA makes permanent most of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, permanently patches the alternative minimum tax, extends for five years the enhancements to individual income tax credits...
Legislative Options for Simplifying and Restructuring the Charitable Deduction
Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (Charitable Contributions) now contains 16 subsections divided into 75 paragraphs and who knows how many subparagraphs. The CCH version of Section 170 and its legislative history takes up 35 pages. In addition, much of this voluminous statute is difficult...
Dead Men Ruling: The Decline of Fiscal Democracy in America
On January 3, 2013, the 113th session of the U.S. Congress opened with a fiscal cliff averted, but a country still stuck in a less-recognized fiscal bind. In the first video of a three-part series, Urban Institute Fellow Eugene Steuerle, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for...
Let's All Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff
With less than four weeks left, reaching an agreement to avoid the negative short-term economic impact of the so-called fiscal cliff might be beyond the ability of the strained U.S. political system.
Why We May Have to go Over the Fiscal Cliff
In a contribution to USA Today, Bill Gale asserts that going over the cliff might be the only way to stimulate the economy and implement gradual, balanced fiscal consolidation over the next decade.
Who Does What? The Changing Shape of U.S. Federalism
Surrounding many of the debates about the public sector has been one about which government level should be involved in performing which functions. As an empirical matter, both centralization and decentralization have occurred together throughout U.S. history. The vast majority of federalism...
The Hard Road to Fiscal Responsibility
The paper describes the current U. S. fiscal problems showing that without significant changes in revenue and spending policies, the country is headed for a sovereign debt crisis similar to that afflicting countries in Southern Europe. Various options for stabilizing the debt-GDP ratio are...
The Federal Budget Outlook: No News Is Bad News
We present new estimates of the budget outlook, incorporating the latest projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Even with the economy recovering fully by 2018, current policy will result in deficits close to $9 trillion (4.5 percent of GDP) over the next decade, with the debt-to-...
Fiscal Cliff: How Much Would Taxes Rise in 2013?
Donald Marron, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, walks viewers through the anatomy of the Fiscal Cliff, explaining exactly what is at stake for Americans in various income groups.
Toppling Off the Fiscal Cliff: Whose Taxes Rise and How Much?
The looming fiscal cliff threatens to boost taxes by more than $500 billion in 2013 when many temporary tax provisions are scheduled to expire. Nearly 90 percent of Americans would pay more tax, primarily because the temporary cut in Social Security taxes and many of the 2001/2003 tax cuts would...