Policy analysts have long debated how best to budget for student loans, mortgage guarantees, and other federal lending programs. Under official budget rules, these programs appear highly profitable; under an alternative, favored by many analysts, they appear to lose money. That discrepancy...
A carbon tax is a promising tool for discouraging the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. In principle, a well-designed tax could reduce the risk of climate change, minimize the cost of emissions reductions, encourage innovation in low-carbon technologies, and raise new public...
Tax expenditures will cost more than $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2014. Those that support health and housing policies account for more than 40 percent of this number, or about $640 billion. These figures and their accompanying table are calculations derived from the tax expenditure estimates in...
In testimony before the House Small Business Committee, Donald Marron examines how tax policy affects small business. Complying with the tax code places a disproportionate burden on small businesses. On the other hand, small businesses are more likely to underpay their taxes, sometimes...
In this testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, Donald Marron offers Congress four pieces of advice as it faces the looming debt limit. First, Congress must increase the debt limit; failing to do so will result in severe economic harm. Second, Congress should not wait until the last...
Measuring the size of government is not simple. Standard measures omit important aspects of government action such as the many deductions, credits, and other tax preferences used to influence resource allocation. We argue that many tax preferences are effectively spending. Traditional measures...
Leaders in both parties appear to favor revenue-neutral corporate tax reform that would lower today's 35 percent tax rate while slashing corporate tax breaks. Individual tax reform appears much more contentious, so some observers wonder whether Congress might pursue corporate tax reform by...
The revenues from a carbon tax could help finance lower corporate tax rates, extending business tax preferences, or other corporate tax reforms. Such a tax swap would reduce the environmental risks of carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of Americas corporate tax system. But it would also...
In a contribution to CNNMoney, Donald Marron argues that minting a $1 trillion platinum coin if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling sounds crazy. But it might actually work if done in smaller denominations.
Giving people cash is a great way to soften COVID-19’s economic blow. But it’s sparked a classic debate. Should the federal government give money to...
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a score of Democratic cosponsors want to use the tax code to discourage direct-to-consumer advertising by drug companies. Their bill,...
Carbon dividends are the hottest idea in climate policy. A diverse mix of progressive and conservative voices are backing the idea of returning carbon tax...
Record stock buybacks—driven in part by the corporate tax changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—have sparked a media and political furor. Unfortunately,...
The tax treatment of employee stock and options used as a compensation mechanism raises a classic Goldilocks problem. We want the tax burden on this...
How fast will the US economy grow? When mainstream forecasters consult their crystal balls, they typically see real economic growth around 2 percent annually over...
The House Freedom Caucus wants to eliminate the Budget Analysis Division at the Congressional Budget Office and rely on outside research organizations, including the Urban...
Soda taxes won big at the ballot box in November. Voters in Boulder, Colorado, and three California cities (Albany, Oakland, and San Francisco) approved new...
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump agree on one thing: Managers of private equity funds should pay ordinary tax rates on their carried interest, not the...
Britain will soon tax sugary drinks. Whether you love that idea or hate it, you’ve got to give the Brits credit: They’ve designed a better version of...
On Monday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) defended the current method for budgeting for federal lending programs, known as “credit reform...
Should you face an extra tax if you drink soda? Eat potato chips? Uncork some wine? Light up a cigarette or joint? Toast yourself in a tanning booth...
Climate change is hot. From the pope’s encyclical to the upcoming United Nations conference in Paris, leaders are debating how to slow and eventually...
Treasury closed the financial books on fiscal 2014 last week. As my colleague Howard Gleckman noted , the top line figures all came in close to their...
