Tax Policy Center

Dave Camp

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Are We Headed For A New Era of Income Tax Deduction Creep?

Congress can’t seem to end its love affair with tax deductions. For a brief period starting with then-House Ways & Means Committee Chair Dave Camp’s...
May 28, 2020Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Without Guiding Principles, The TCJA Is Becoming A Magnet For Special Deals

Tax reform is hard enough when it is based on a set of principles around which Congress can write a new law. But when lawmakers...
December 7, 2017Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

What Happened To The Base-Broadeners In Congress’s Tax Cut Bill?

Want to know why the individual tax rate cuts in the Senate version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are so small. Or conversely,...
November 27, 2017Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox

Raising Taxes to Fuel, Fly, and… Drink?

Have taxes, will travel. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association wants Congress to raise the federal gas tax by 15 cents a gallon to generate $401 billion in new transportation funding. Money for the Highway Trust Fund dries up in May. The group suggests the tax be offset with a
March 13, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Is Dynamic Scoring of Tax Bills Ready For Prime Time?

The House has instructed the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office to factor in the macroeconomic effects of tax law changes when calculating the official budget score of revenue bills. But are existing models up to the task of what’s commonly called dynamic scoring? A
January 26, 2015Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

House GOP Leadership Would Require Dynamic Scoring of Some Tax Bills. Will It Matter?

Last night, the House Republican leadership proposed new rules that would require the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office to incorporate macroeconomic effects of “major” legislation into their official budget estimates. But there may be less to these new rules for so-
December 24, 2014Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Tax Vox Lump of Coal Awards: The 10 Worst Tax Ideas of 2014

It’s time for the annual Tax Vox Lump of Coal Awards for the worst tax policy of 2014. The past 12 months were a banner year for bad ideas and their perpetrators. The Top 10 are: Frank Underwood & Elvis. Tax subsidies for economic development hardly ever pay for themselves. But two are worthy
December 23, 2014Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Tax Policy in 2014: Two Developments That May Set The Table For the Future

At first glance, 2014 seemed like a tax policy wasteland, but two developments may have set the stage for important future initiatives. A wave of tax-driven corporate inversions showed one reason why tax reform is necessary. A detailed plan by House Ways & Means Committee chairman Dave Camp (R-
December 22, 2014William G. Gale
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Magical Thinking on Tax Reform

Everybody loves the idea of tax reform. And tax reform can be very good policy. But advocates often turn to magical thinking about how good tax reform can be, and a recent column by George Will offers two examples of this problem. First, Will writes that “if America’s long-term economic growth [
December 18, 2014William G. Gale
: TaxVox

Everybody’s Working for the Weekend

No shutdown, so far . Democrats hated it because of riders weakening Dodd-Frank financial protections and allowing fat-cats to triple their donations to political parties. Republicans hated it because it didn’t stop President Obama from liberalizing immigration laws. But, in the end, the House
December 12, 2014Renu Zaretsky