With rapid increases in entitlement spending just over the horizon, now is the time to get deficits down and national saving up, senior fellow Edward Gramlich told the House Budget Committee.
The paper describes the basic features of the President's plan and evaluates the extent to which it would meet its stated goals of expanding health insurance coverage and restraining healthcare spending. The basic approach would improve the market for health insurance, but inadequate attention...
The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally designed to limit the amount of tax sheltering and to assure that high-income filers paid at least some tax. The current AMT, however, has strayed from those original goals and under current law the tax will affect over 23 million...
In this commentary for public radio's Marketplace program, Len Burman, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, explains why automatically adjusting the minimum wage for inflation benefits more than just low-wage workers.
Two primary wage-support policies help low-income families: the minimum wage and targeted tax credits. Since 1997, when Congress last raised the minimum wage, the real value of the minimum wage has fallen about 20 percent because of inflation, while the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child...
In this Marketplace commentary, Len Burman, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, says that extending temporary tax measures enables Congress to avoid serious tax reform and hide deep problems.
In 2004, workers ages 51 to 56 reported a 33 percent chance of working past age 65--up from 27 percent for workers that age in 1992. Expected full-time work after age 62 increased as well. Lower rates of retiree health insurance offers from employers, higher levels of educational attainment,...
States and their local governments vary both in their needs to provide basic public services, and in their abilities to raise revenues to pay for those services. A forthcoming joint study by the Tax Policy Center and the New England Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, uses the...
The early years of the 21st century have been marked by a major tax bill almost every year. This fact sheet looks at the impact of these laws on taxpayers, especially on who benefits and who doesnt, and discusses some unfinished business, including the future of the estate tax and the individual...
Hal Salzman and Leonard Lynn argue that recent reports warning of a rising threat posed by hordes of scientists and engineers graduating from Chinese and Indian universities are wrong on several counts, countering that rather than technonationalism, the United States should invest in education,...
Why Deficits Matter
With rapid increases in entitlement spending just over the horizon, now is the time to get deficits down and national saving up, senior fellow Edward Gramlich told the House Budget Committee.
The President's Health Insurance Proposal - A First Look
The paper describes the basic features of the President's plan and evaluates the extent to which it would meet its stated goals of expanding health insurance coverage and restraining healthcare spending. The basic approach would improve the market for health insurance, but inadequate attention...
Options to Fix the AMT
The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally designed to limit the amount of tax sheltering and to assure that high-income filers paid at least some tax. The current AMT, however, has strayed from those original goals and under current law the tax will affect over 23 million...
It's All About How You Raise Minimum Wage
In this commentary for public radio's Marketplace program, Len Burman, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, explains why automatically adjusting the minimum wage for inflation benefits more than just low-wage workers.
Tax Credits, the Minimum Wage, and Inflation
Two primary wage-support policies help low-income families: the minimum wage and targeted tax credits. Since 1997, when Congress last raised the minimum wage, the real value of the minimum wage has fallen about 20 percent because of inflation, while the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child...
Doing Nothing's a Good Thing
In this Marketplace commentary, Len Burman, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, says that extending temporary tax measures enables Congress to avoid serious tax reform and hide deep problems.
Why Do Boomers Plan To Work So Long?
In 2004, workers ages 51 to 56 reported a 33 percent chance of working past age 65--up from 27 percent for workers that age in 1992. Expected full-time work after age 62 increased as well. Lower rates of retiree health insurance offers from employers, higher levels of educational attainment,...
Fiscal Capacity of States, Fiscal 2002
States and their local governments vary both in their needs to provide basic public services, and in their abilities to raise revenues to pay for those services. A forthcoming joint study by the Tax Policy Center and the New England Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, uses the...
Tax Policy: Facts and Figures
The early years of the 21st century have been marked by a major tax bill almost every year. This fact sheet looks at the impact of these laws on taxpayers, especially on who benefits and who doesnt, and discusses some unfinished business, including the future of the estate tax and the individual...
Technology: More Than Degrees
Hal Salzman and Leonard Lynn argue that recent reports warning of a rising threat posed by hordes of scientists and engineers graduating from Chinese and Indian universities are wrong on several counts, countering that rather than technonationalism, the United States should invest in education,...