It is politically implausible to solve entirely America's budget problem on the spending side, Rudolph Penner states in "The International Economy" journal (spring 2013). Taxes will have to increase as well.
The following is the text of a debate that occurred between Rosenthal and Needham at the May meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation in Washington regarding the proper tax treatment of private equity funds and their partners under current law. The introduction should be...
This document reviews several notable tax proposals in President Obamas Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. These include a 28 percent limit on certain tax expenditures, a cap on tax preferences for retirement savers with high balances, a minimum tax ("Buffett Rule") on high-income taxpayers, alternative...
With the passage of the recent tax act, many observers are claiming that fiscal issues have been, essentially, resolved and that the nation should move on to other issues. The February 2013 release of the Congressional Budget Offices Budget and Economic Outlook provides an opportunity to re-...
The Congressional Budget Office released its latest Budget and Economic Outlook earlier this week. As always, the Outlook provides insight into the fiscal status of the federal government. The Outlook shows that, while we do not face an imminent budget crisis, we are not out of the woods. The 10...
Although the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act instituted meaningful deficit reduction relative to previous policy, it still left the budget a far distance from any sustainable path. Under a plausible scenario, deficits never fall below 3.4 percent of GDP and rise to 5.4 percent of...
The fiscal cliff debate culminated in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). ATRA makes permanent most of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, permanently patches the alternative minimum tax, extends for five years the enhancements to individual income tax credits...
Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (Charitable Contributions) now contains 16 subsections divided into 75 paragraphs and who knows how many subparagraphs. The CCH version of Section 170 and its legislative history takes up 35 pages. In addition, much of this voluminous statute is difficult...
On January 3, 2013, the 113th session of the U.S. Congress opened with a fiscal cliff averted, but a country still stuck in a less-recognized fiscal bind. In the first video of a three-part series, Urban Institute Fellow Eugene Steuerle, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for...
Does Debt Matter?
It is politically implausible to solve entirely America's budget problem on the spending side, Rudolph Penner states in "The International Economy" journal (spring 2013). Taxes will have to increase as well.
Taxing Private Equity Funds and Their Partners: A Debate on Current Law
The following is the text of a debate that occurred between Rosenthal and Needham at the May meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation in Washington regarding the proper tax treatment of private equity funds and their partners under current law. The introduction should be...
Analysis of Specific Tax Provisions in President Obama's FY2014 Budget
This document reviews several notable tax proposals in President Obamas Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. These include a 28 percent limit on certain tax expenditures, a cap on tax preferences for retirement savers with high balances, a minimum tax ("Buffett Rule") on high-income taxpayers, alternative...
Fiscal Fatigue: Tracking the Budget Outlook as Political Leaders Lurch from One Artificial Crisis to Another
With the passage of the recent tax act, many observers are claiming that fiscal issues have been, essentially, resolved and that the nation should move on to other issues. The February 2013 release of the Congressional Budget Offices Budget and Economic Outlook provides an opportunity to re-...
What You Should Know About the Budget Outlook
The Congressional Budget Office released its latest Budget and Economic Outlook earlier this week. As always, the Outlook provides insight into the fiscal status of the federal government. The Outlook shows that, while we do not face an imminent budget crisis, we are not out of the woods. The 10...
Today's Unsustainable Budget Policy: A Recount
Although the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act instituted meaningful deficit reduction relative to previous policy, it still left the budget a far distance from any sustainable path. Under a plausible scenario, deficits never fall below 3.4 percent of GDP and rise to 5.4 percent of...
Why Do We Keep Jumping Over Fiscal Cliffs With Bungee Cords?
Tax Provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA)
The fiscal cliff debate culminated in the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). ATRA makes permanent most of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, permanently patches the alternative minimum tax, extends for five years the enhancements to individual income tax credits...
Legislative Options for Simplifying and Restructuring the Charitable Deduction
Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (Charitable Contributions) now contains 16 subsections divided into 75 paragraphs and who knows how many subparagraphs. The CCH version of Section 170 and its legislative history takes up 35 pages. In addition, much of this voluminous statute is difficult...
Dead Men Ruling: The Decline of Fiscal Democracy in America
On January 3, 2013, the 113th session of the U.S. Congress opened with a fiscal cliff averted, but a country still stuck in a less-recognized fiscal bind. In the first video of a three-part series, Urban Institute Fellow Eugene Steuerle, a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for...