With less than four weeks left, reaching an agreement to avoid the negative short-term economic impact of the so-called fiscal cliff might be beyond the ability of the strained U.S. political system.
In a contribution to USA Today, Bill Gale asserts that going over the cliff might be the only way to stimulate the economy and implement gradual, balanced fiscal consolidation over the next decade.
Surrounding many of the debates about the public sector has been one about which government level should be involved in performing which functions. As an empirical matter, both centralization and decentralization have occurred together throughout U.S. history. The vast majority of federalism...
The paper describes the current U. S. fiscal problems showing that without significant changes in revenue and spending policies, the country is headed for a sovereign debt crisis similar to that afflicting countries in Southern Europe. Various options for stabilizing the debt-GDP ratio are...
We present new estimates of the budget outlook, incorporating the latest projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Even with the economy recovering fully by 2018, current policy will result in deficits close to $9 trillion (4.5 percent of GDP) over the next decade, with the debt-to-...
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.
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...
President Obama's 2012 Budget contains a number of tax provisions that would cut taxes for low- and middle-income households and raise taxes on wealthier taxpayers. This resource guide describes the tax proposals, offers more detailed commentary on key provisions, and links to tables showing the...
The Tax Policy Center has examined the key tax proposals in President Obama's 2011 budget. Separate discussions below describe each of the proposals including current law, proposed changes, and, when appropriate, the distributional effects. The budget as presented by the president lacks complete...
In this paper Toder addresses issues related to measurement of the tax gapthe difference between tax liability under the current Federal tax law and taxes paid. He discusses how the tax gap is defined, reviews the main components of the tax gap, and describes how the IRS estimates it, as well as...
Let's All Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff
With less than four weeks left, reaching an agreement to avoid the negative short-term economic impact of the so-called fiscal cliff might be beyond the ability of the strained U.S. political system.
Why We May Have to go Over the Fiscal Cliff
In a contribution to USA Today, Bill Gale asserts that going over the cliff might be the only way to stimulate the economy and implement gradual, balanced fiscal consolidation over the next decade.
Who Does What? The Changing Shape of U.S. Federalism
Surrounding many of the debates about the public sector has been one about which government level should be involved in performing which functions. As an empirical matter, both centralization and decentralization have occurred together throughout U.S. history. The vast majority of federalism...
The Hard Road to Fiscal Responsibility
The paper describes the current U. S. fiscal problems showing that without significant changes in revenue and spending policies, the country is headed for a sovereign debt crisis similar to that afflicting countries in Southern Europe. Various options for stabilizing the debt-GDP ratio are...
The Federal Budget Outlook: No News Is Bad News
We present new estimates of the budget outlook, incorporating the latest projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Even with the economy recovering fully by 2018, current policy will result in deficits close to $9 trillion (4.5 percent of GDP) over the next decade, with the debt-to-...
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.
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...
Tax Proposals in the 2012 Budget
President Obama's 2012 Budget contains a number of tax provisions that would cut taxes for low- and middle-income households and raise taxes on wealthier taxpayers. This resource guide describes the tax proposals, offers more detailed commentary on key provisions, and links to tables showing the...
Tax Proposals in the 2011 Budget
The Tax Policy Center has examined the key tax proposals in President Obama's 2011 budget. Separate discussions below describe each of the proposals including current law, proposed changes, and, when appropriate, the distributional effects. The budget as presented by the president lacks complete...
What is the Tax Gap?
In this paper Toder addresses issues related to measurement of the tax gapthe difference between tax liability under the current Federal tax law and taxes paid. He discusses how the tax gap is defined, reviews the main components of the tax gap, and describes how the IRS estimates it, as well as...