Tax Policy Center

Trump Would Slash Taxes for the Top 0.1 Percent By An Average of $1.3 Million, Add Nearly $10 Trillion to the Debt

Donald Trump’s tax plan would add $9.5 trillion to the national debt from 2016 to 2026 and another $15 trillion in the following decade (before added interest), according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Nearly all households would get a tax cut under the plan, averaging about $5,100 in

December 22, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The TaxVox Lump of Coal Awards for the Ten Worst Tax Ideas of 2015

It is time for TaxVox’ s annual Lump of Coal awards for the worst tax ideas (or most depressing tax stories) of 2015. As always, choosing the Top 10 was not easy, but here they are: 10. The Michigan House . Lawmakers tried to pay for new transportation projects by eliminating the state’s earned

December 21, 2015Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Why You Should Pay Attention to the Presidential Candidates’ Tax Proposals

The presidential election is nearly a year away, but many candidates have already rolled out detailed tax reform plans. On the GOP side, we’ve seen proposals from Jeb Bush (the subject of a rigorous Tax Policy Center analysis ), Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump, among others. Among Democrats

December 15, 2015Harvey Galper

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Bush’s Tax Plan Would Add $6.8 Trillion to the National Debt, Benefit High-Income Households

Jeb Bush’s tax plan would boost deficits by $6.8 trillion between 2016 and 2026 and overwhelmingly benefit the highest income taxpayers, according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. With added interest costs, the plan would boost the national debt by more than $8 trillion by 2026. After

December 7, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The GOP Debate: Squabbles Over Refundable Credits, Deductions, and Conservatisim

Last night’s GOP presidential debates ( here’s a transcript of the main event) highlighted some important tax policy contrasts among the candidates. One thought refundable credits are conservative economic policy while another did not. Nearly all would preserve deductions for mortgage interest and

November 11, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Tax Reform Is Possible, But It Won’t be Easy

At a Tax Policy Center conference on tax reform yesterday, Jason Furman, the chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, said that a major rewrite of the tax code would make little progress until Congress breaks the current impasse over the treatment of pass-throughs-- firms such as

November 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Little Difference Between the Cadillac Tax and a Cap on the Tax Exclusion for Employer Health Plans

In the face of widespread criticism of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost employer sponsored health insurance plans ( the Cadillac Tax ), some lawmakers have backed an alternative: a cap on the current tax exclusion for employer contributions to health insurance. To learn how the two

October 22, 2015Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Trump Proposes a Huge Tax Cut

Donald Trump, who likes superlatives, has weighed in with his version of a standard cut-the-rates, broaden-the-base tax reform . And like many other GOP tax rewrite proposals, this one appears to be an enormous tax cut skewed largely in favor of high-income households. While Trump claims the plan

September 28, 2015Howard Gleckman

State and Local Issues: TaxVox

Most State Budgets Are Improving But Their Long-Term Prospects Remain Uncertain

If you are not an energy dependent state, things ought to be pretty good, at least in the short-term. The economy is improving, though slowly, The Rockefeller Institute reported this morning that state tax revenues grew by 5.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and by 7.6 percent in the

September 17, 2015Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The Cost of the Bush Tax Cuts, and What It Might Mean

While GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has been reluctant to describe his tax plan as a tax cut, economists close to him have not. And newly-released cost estimates of his tax reform plan -- and their consequences--are worth considering. The very short version: His plan would add at least a

September 10, 2015Howard Gleckman