In a point-counterpoint with Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Eugene Steuerle discusses five pressing fiscal problems facing America, and suggests tax and budget reform options to address these issues. This discourse includes agreement and disagreement, yet is honestly...
In commentary for the San Francisco Chronicle, Gene Steuerle asserts that all of the following myths about Social Security retirement ages are wrong: (1) increasing the retirement age will reduce benefits; (2) increasing the retirement age discriminates against lower-income workers with shorter...
The U.S. faces a large medium-term federal budget deficit and an unsustainable long-term fiscal gap. Left unattended, these shortfalls will hobble and eventually cripple the economy. The only plausible way to close the gap is through a combination of spending cuts and/or tax increases. This...
Policymakers should be thinking hard about low-income families with children and the tax code. In 2010, the federal income tax system will deliver substantial assistance to these families through refundable tax credits. The Tax Policy Center estimates a third fewer children would be in poverty...
The Wyden-Gregg tax reform proposal would represent a broad reform of the federal income tax system. This paper examines the plan's impact on individuals' effective marginal tax rates (EMTR), the incremental amount of tax owed on an additional dollar of income. We examine the impact on the EMTR...
During the recent tax filing season, cable news and talk radio repeatedly discussed the Tax Policy Center's (TPC's) estimate that 47 percent of Americans would pay no federal income tax for 2009. However much of the commentary failed to explain why.
The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg," introduced as S. 3018) is a broad reform of the federal income tax system. Some provisions would also expand the Social Security payroll tax base. This paper presents the Tax Policy Center's estimates of the revenue and...
The value of the tax preference for pensions depends on the marginal tax schedule and on the tax treatment of income from assets held outside a pension account. We find that changes in U.S. tax law, especially the reduction in tax rates on capital gains and dividends, but also the decline in...
Personal income tax systems vary widely across states, leading to different levels of progressivity. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have an individual income tax. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax personal income, while New...
America's Related Fiscal Problems
In a point-counterpoint with Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Eugene Steuerle discusses five pressing fiscal problems facing America, and suggests tax and budget reform options to address these issues. This discourse includes agreement and disagreement, yet is honestly...
Lowering the Heat Around Raising Retirement Age
In commentary for the San Francisco Chronicle, Gene Steuerle asserts that all of the following myths about Social Security retirement ages are wrong: (1) increasing the retirement age will reduce benefits; (2) increasing the retirement age discriminates against lower-income workers with shorter...
A Value-Added Tax for the United States: Part of the Solution
The U.S. faces a large medium-term federal budget deficit and an unsustainable long-term fiscal gap. Left unattended, these shortfalls will hobble and eventually cripple the economy. The only plausible way to close the gap is through a combination of spending cuts and/or tax increases. This...
Extending Tax Credits for Low-Income Families
Policymakers should be thinking hard about low-income families with children and the tax code. In 2010, the federal income tax system will deliver substantial assistance to these families through refundable tax credits. The Tax Policy Center estimates a third fewer children would be in poverty...
The Future of Individual Tax Rates: Effects on Growth and Distribution
Donald Marron's testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance on the individual tax system.
The Impact of the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg") on Effective Marginal Tax Rates
The Wyden-Gregg tax reform proposal would represent a broad reform of the federal income tax system. This paper examines the plan's impact on individuals' effective marginal tax rates (EMTR), the incremental amount of tax owed on an additional dollar of income. We examine the impact on the EMTR...
Why Nearly Half of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax
During the recent tax filing season, cable news and talk radio repeatedly discussed the Tax Policy Center's (TPC's) estimate that 47 percent of Americans would pay no federal income tax for 2009. However much of the commentary failed to explain why.
Preliminary Revenue Estimates and Distributional Analysis of the Tax Provisions in the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010
The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 ("Wyden-Gregg," introduced as S. 3018) is a broad reform of the federal income tax system. Some provisions would also expand the Social Security payroll tax base. This paper presents the Tax Policy Center's estimates of the revenue and...
The Shrinking Tax Preference for Pension Savings: An Analysis of Income Tax Changes, 1985-2007
The value of the tax preference for pensions depends on the marginal tax schedule and on the tax treatment of income from assets held outside a pension account. We find that changes in U.S. tax law, especially the reduction in tax rates on capital gains and dividends, but also the decline in...
State Individual Income Tax Rates
Personal income tax systems vary widely across states, leading to different levels of progressivity. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have an individual income tax. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax personal income, while New...