The looming fiscal cliff threatens to boost taxes by more than $500 billion in 2013 when many temporary tax provisions are scheduled to expire. Nearly 90 percent of Americans would pay more tax, primarily because the temporary cut in Social Security taxes and many of the 2001/2003 tax cuts would...
Donald Marron, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, walks viewers through the anatomy of the Fiscal Cliff, explaining exactly what is at stake for Americans in various income groups.
As Mitt Romney recently noted, about 47 percent of U.S. households do not pay federal income taxes. Some see this as evidence of a welfare state run amok. Others think that gimmicks and loopholes let both rich and poor Americans duck their taxes. This commentary corrects some misconceptions...
Leonard Burman's testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee on tax reform and the tax treatment of capital gains.
Political leaders and commentators frequently claim that the policies they favor will make the United States more competitive, without defining what competiveness between countries means. This paper defines competitiveness as a contest between nations for scarce and mobile resources and explores...
This article presents IRS data on corporate dividends paid and received. Following the 2003 legislation that lowered the individual tax rate on dividends, roughly $350 billion of net corporate dividends have been paid annually. Less than half that amount has shown up as qualified dividend income...
A candidate for office effectively divides the population into the "deserving," who should get more benefits or tax cuts (or at least should not pay more taxes or lose benefits), and the "undeserving," who are not carrying their own weight. But he or she doesn't want to put very many people in...
Encouraging savings and assets among low- and moderate-income families should be part of the national strategy to restore household and economic stability. Research shows that low-income families can and do save. Savings can help families weather emergencies and prosper, and asset building can...
A recent TPC paper examined tradeoffs among revenues, progressivity and tax rates in tax reform. It concluded that, under certain assumptions, any revenue-neutral plan along the lines Governor Romney has outlined would reduce taxes for high-income households, thus requiring higher taxes on other...
Romney Starts to Fill in Blanks on His Tax Plan
In a contribution to CNN.com, Bill Gale discusses the some of the details of Romney's tax plan.
Toppling Off the Fiscal Cliff: Whose Taxes Rise and How Much?
The looming fiscal cliff threatens to boost taxes by more than $500 billion in 2013 when many temporary tax provisions are scheduled to expire. Nearly 90 percent of Americans would pay more tax, primarily because the temporary cut in Social Security taxes and many of the 2001/2003 tax cuts would...
Fiscal Cliff: How Much Would Taxes Rise in 2013?
Donald Marron, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, walks viewers through the anatomy of the Fiscal Cliff, explaining exactly what is at stake for Americans in various income groups.
Five Myths About the 47 Percent
As Mitt Romney recently noted, about 47 percent of U.S. households do not pay federal income taxes. Some see this as evidence of a welfare state run amok. Others think that gimmicks and loopholes let both rich and poor Americans duck their taxes. This commentary corrects some misconceptions...
Tax Reform and the Tax Treatment of Capital Gains
Leonard Burman's testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee on tax reform and the tax treatment of capital gains.
International Competitiveness: Who Competes Against Whom and for What?
Political leaders and commentators frequently claim that the policies they favor will make the United States more competitive, without defining what competiveness between countries means. This paper defines competitiveness as a contest between nations for scarce and mobile resources and explores...
Corporate Dividends Paid and Received, 2003-2009
This article presents IRS data on corporate dividends paid and received. Following the 2003 legislation that lowered the individual tax rate on dividends, roughly $350 billion of net corporate dividends have been paid annually. Less than half that amount has shown up as qualified dividend income...
The 1 Percent (Political) Solution
A candidate for office effectively divides the population into the "deserving," who should get more benefits or tax cuts (or at least should not pay more taxes or lose benefits), and the "undeserving," who are not carrying their own weight. But he or she doesn't want to put very many people in...
Savings: The Poor Can Save, Too
Encouraging savings and assets among low- and moderate-income families should be part of the national strategy to restore household and economic stability. Research shows that low-income families can and do save. Savings can help families weather emergencies and prosper, and asset building can...
Implications of Governor Romney's Tax Proposals: FAQs and Responses
A recent TPC paper examined tradeoffs among revenues, progressivity and tax rates in tax reform. It concluded that, under certain assumptions, any revenue-neutral plan along the lines Governor Romney has outlined would reduce taxes for high-income households, thus requiring higher taxes on other...