On June 13, 2003, the IRS requested public comments on a proposed EITC procedure. The goal of this new EITC procedure, known as precertification, is to reduce EITC error rates by individuals who are ineligible. Because a variety of questions have been raised about this procedure, and also...

This paper evaluates the tax proposals put forth by the Bush Administration, the House of Representatives, and the Senate Finance Committee, with respect to their impact on revenues, short-term stimulus, long-term growth and distribution of tax burdens and after-tax income. Particular attention...

In 1986, a policy decision was made to exempt poor people from the income tax. Increases in the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the introduction of the child tax credit (CTC) have increased the so-called "tax entry threshold" since 1986, and provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief...

While the payroll tax rates for Hospital Insurance and OASDI have increased since 1966, the HI rate has risen faster. The HI rate is now almost one-quarter of the OASDI rate. Orszag concludes that removing the current $87,000 cap on taxable payroll under OASDI would raise a substantial share of...

In the face of a stagnant economy, a war, a rapidly deteriorating short-term fiscal outlook, and a substantial long-term fiscal problem, the Bush Administration has proposed massive, regressive, permanent tax cuts that it acknowledges are unsustainable. This paper shows that under realistic...

Congress must be careful in deciding whether or not to subject stock options to Social Security and unemployment tax. There is certainly a case to be made for not doing so, but Congress could find itself in the funny position of offering special employment tax treatment to employees who have...

In the early 1970s, a Democratic Congress and a Republican President (Nixon) became concerned about the lack of pension funding, vesting, and coverage for most Americans. They decided to do something about it. This president and Congress, I believe, are not less qualified or less concerned with...

Providing fiscal or tax subsidies to try to promote additional work and saving is a relatively modern notion. These subsidies may stimulate demand by putting more money in the economy, but they are designed primarily to affect behavior through incentives. Modern industrial economies like the U.S...

The collapse of Enron brings out many tales, but none motivate action more than images of workers who now are left with little or nothing in the way of retirement plan benefits. In response, President Bush has requested legislation that would essentially remove some bars that prevent workers...

Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle argues that there are advantages to the administration's USA account proposal. It would attempt to use some general revenues to fortify and build up the private pension system. He concludes that with luck, it would develop and reinforce better saving patterns by...