Events leading up to the enactment of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) highlighted the role of tax provisions that expire at a given date, which are commonly known as "sunsets." This article examines trends in the magnitude and nature of sunsets, and discusses...
[Newsday] The tax bill that President George W. Bush signed into law last week sped up most of the 2001 tax cuts' provisions that were supposed to phase in gradually. Left out, however, were provisions that would have helped low-income working familiesincluding the increase in the refund...
President Bush has proposed to eliminate individual income tax on most stock dividends and both houses of Congress have passed bills that would reduce or eliminate taxes on dividends, at least temporarily. This column looks at who has stock dividends and how dividend income is distributed.
If one is a traditional tax reformer, there was much to recommend in the president's initial approach to tax policy. As the tax "reform" process has unraveled, however, Congress has twisted various tax bills into budget packages oriented toward meeting some sound bite, such as the size of each...
The president's 2003 tax proposals include accelerating the so-called "marriage penalty" relief for middle- and upper-class married couples, rather than phasing in the change over a decade. Yet, for the largest source of cash assistance to low-income working families—the earned income tax credit...
[Los Angeles Times] On May 15, the Senate passed a tax cut that would probably prove even more costly and less responsible than the Bush Administration. The president's dividend-relief proposal would cost almost $400 billion over the next 10 years. The Senate version could end up costing...
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...
Analyses of the private pension system typically focus on such issues as how to improve overage or encourage saving or prevent tax abuse or generate retirement income more equitably. Those issues are important, but the thesis of this paper is that more attention needs to be paid to the structure...
Sunsets in the Tax Code
Events leading up to the enactment of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) highlighted the role of tax provisions that expire at a given date, which are commonly known as "sunsets." This article examines trends in the magnitude and nature of sunsets, and discusses...
Give the 'Lucky Duckies' a Helping Hand, Too
[Newsday] The tax bill that President George W. Bush signed into law last week sped up most of the 2001 tax cuts' provisions that were supposed to phase in gradually. Left out, however, were provisions that would have helped low-income working familiesincluding the increase in the refund...
17 Percent of Families Have Stock Dividends
President Bush has proposed to eliminate individual income tax on most stock dividends and both houses of Congress have passed bills that would reduce or eliminate taxes on dividends, at least temporarily. This column looks at who has stock dividends and how dividend income is distributed.
Toying With the Economic Future
If one is a traditional tax reformer, there was much to recommend in the president's initial approach to tax policy. As the tax "reform" process has unraveled, however, Congress has twisted various tax bills into budget packages oriented toward meeting some sound bite, such as the size of each...
Working Poor Won't Get Quick Relief
The president's 2003 tax proposals include accelerating the so-called "marriage penalty" relief for middle- and upper-class married couples, rather than phasing in the change over a decade. Yet, for the largest source of cash assistance to low-income working families—the earned income tax credit...
Congress Morphs an 'Itty-Bitty' Tax Cut Into a Budget Buster
[Los Angeles Times] On May 15, the Senate passed a tax cut that would probably prove even more costly and less responsible than the Bush Administration. The president's dividend-relief proposal would cost almost $400 billion over the next 10 years. The Senate version could end up costing...
Thinking through the Tax Options
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...
Tax Entry Thresholds, 2000-2011
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...
Taxable Payroll and Payroll Tax Rates
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...
Reality Testing for Pension Reform
Analyses of the private pension system typically focus on such issues as how to improve overage or encourage saving or prevent tax abuse or generate retirement income more equitably. Those issues are important, but the thesis of this paper is that more attention needs to be paid to the structure...