The practice of requiring well-to-do Americans to pay a minimum tax was developed more than three decades ago. In January, 1969, then-Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr informed Congress that 155 individual taxpayers with income exceeding $200,000 paid no tax in 1966. The news set off a political...
Originally targeted at high-income households, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) is now on the verge of switching from a "class" tax to a "mass" tax. Under current law, the AMT will encroach dramatically on the middle-class over the next decade and will become the de facto tax...
Critics of the elimination of the double taxation of corporate dividends point to budgetary and distributional concerns as reasons to oppose corporate-personal income tax integration. The criticisms do not, however, mean that integration represents bad tax policy.
Taxpayers pay alternative minimum tax (AMT) if their AMT liability exceeds their regular income tax. Originally targeted at a few high-income households who paid no federal income tax, this class tax is about to become a mass tax. The projected expansion occurs because the AMT is not indexed for...
Various provisions of the 2001 tax cut change the marriage penalties or subsidies lower- and middle-income households may face. We focus on the higher marriage penalties that heads of household filers marrying single filers often confront -- the loss of valuable children's tax benefits for which...
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...
The federal income tax system has been used in a number of ways to promote favored forms of consumption and investment and to help selected groups of taxpayers. Since the mid-1980s, Congress has increasingly used the federal tax code to support social programs. This trend is likely to continue....
It seems to be that everywhere you turn, strong viewpoints on the opposite side of any given issue are garnering attention at the sake of objective, factual reporting. Truth sometimes is represented by a strong view only on one side of an issue, and in many cases truth can be found by balancing...
The AMT: Out of Control
The practice of requiring well-to-do Americans to pay a minimum tax was developed more than three decades ago. In January, 1969, then-Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr informed Congress that 155 individual taxpayers with income exceeding $200,000 paid no tax in 1966. The news set off a political...
The Individual AMT: Problems and Potential Solutions
Originally targeted at high-income households, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) is now on the verge of switching from a "class" tax to a "mass" tax. Under current law, the AMT will encroach dramatically on the middle-class over the next decade and will become the de facto tax...
Corporate Integration: Think Twice About the Possibilities
Critics of the elimination of the double taxation of corporate dividends point to budgetary and distributional concerns as reasons to oppose corporate-personal income tax integration. The criticisms do not, however, mean that integration represents bad tax policy.
By 2008, the AMT Will Cost More to Repeal Than the Regular Income Tax
Taxpayers pay alternative minimum tax (AMT) if their AMT liability exceeds their regular income tax. Originally targeted at a few high-income households who paid no federal income tax, this class tax is about to become a mass tax. The projected expansion occurs because the AMT is not indexed for...
Some Implications of the Revenue Shortfall
Here are fourteen implications of the revenue shortfall.
Saying 'I Do' after the 2001 Tax Cuts
Various provisions of the 2001 tax cut change the marriage penalties or subsidies lower- and middle-income households may face. We focus on the higher marriage penalties that heads of household filers marrying single filers often confront -- the loss of valuable children's tax benefits for which...
Should Stock Options Be Preferred to 401(k) & Other Plans
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...
Bubble Markets and Pension Fund Assumptions
This article examines when it is appropriate to adjust expected returns upward.
Providing Federal Assistance for Low-Income Families through the Tax System
The federal income tax system has been used in a number of ways to promote favored forms of consumption and investment and to help selected groups of taxpayers. Since the mid-1980s, Congress has increasingly used the federal tax code to support social programs. This trend is likely to continue....
Objective Reporting: Where Can It Be Found?
It seems to be that everywhere you turn, strong viewpoints on the opposite side of any given issue are garnering attention at the sake of objective, factual reporting. Truth sometimes is represented by a strong view only on one side of an issue, and in many cases truth can be found by balancing...