Research report

In this essay, as part of a series on tax justice, Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle discusses the importance of both horizontal and vertical equity.

December 6, 1999
C. Eugene Steuerle
Research report

In this essay, as part of a series on tax justice, Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle discusses the primary importance of equity in the tax system.

November 22, 1999
C. Eugene Steuerle
Research report

With the passage of the recent tax act, many observers are claiming that fiscal issues have been, essentially, resolved and that the nation should move on to other issues. The February 2013 release of the Congressional Budget Offices Budget and Economic Outlook provides an opportunity to re-...

February 27, 2013
Alan J. AuerbachWilliam G. Gale
Research report

The share of households with student loans rose from 9 percent in 1989 to 19 percent by 2010, while inflation-adjusted median student debt rose by more than 50 percent. Rising debt burdens can affect numerous outcomes. For those in school, loans may affect completion rates, choice of major, and...

May 14, 2014
William G. GaleBenjamin H. HarrisBryant RenaudKatherine Rodihan
Research report

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...

June 24, 2013
Donald MarronEric Toder
Research report

Examining state and local finances in recent economic recoveries, we find that state and local government activity exhibited an unprecedented decline during the most recent recovery. Never before had state and local contribution to GDP been negative three years after a recession passed its low...

April 21, 2013
Benjamin H. HarrisYuri Shadunsky
Research report

The U.S. faces substantial and unsustainable budget deficits, which will require tax increases and spending cuts to resolve. A carbon tax could raise revenues, with several positive effects: it would improve environmental outcomes, increase economic efficiency, and allow the elimination of...

March 11, 2013
Samuel BrownWilliam G. GaleFernando Saltiel
Research report

While political leaders remain tied up in discussions of government shutdowns and debt ceiling increases, we focus on the medium- and long-term budget outlook, where more serious challenges lie. With the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act, the imposition of the sequester, and changes in...

October 1, 2013
Alan J. AuerbachWilliam G. Gale
Research report

Facing the most severe recession since the 1930s, and probably the longest as well, the
U.S. government has adopted an aggressive countercyclical fiscal policy stance, beginning with the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 in February of that year, shortly after the recessions designated...

August 24, 2009
Alan J. AuerbachWilliam G. Gale
Research report

In August 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO, 2009) projected that the federal budget deficit would total $7.1 trillion over the 2010-2019 decade-under current law. That outcome would require the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to sunset as scheduled in 2011 and Congress to stop "patching" the...

January 29, 2010
Rosanne AltshulerKatherine LimRoberton C. Williams