Families with children in poverty receive net subsidies from the federal income and payroll tax system, but that has not always been the case. In the 1970s, income tax filing thresholds were low, and even families in poverty who owed no income tax faced substantial payroll taxes. Congress...
The effect of fiscal policy on economic growth is a controversial and long-standing topic in economic theory, empirical research, and economic policymaking. It is at the heart of the policy debate surrounding the sharp increases in official federal budget surpluses in the 1990s, the equally...
The Presidents January 7, 2003 economic stimulus proposal for enhancing the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) would, in addition to ending the corporate taxation of dividends and speeding up tax rate and marriage penalty relief, accelerate the increase in the...
Both the president and members of Congress have expressed strong political desire to appear to be "doing something" about the past recession and the current unemployment rate. This sentiment cuts across political parties and between the executive and congressional branches of government. In...
On January 7, 2003, President Bush proposed a new package of tax cuts, consisting primarily of a new tax cut for dividends and capital gains on corporate stock and an acceleration of most but not all of the provisions of the 2001 tax cut that were scheduled to take effect in future years.1 In...
President Bush's recently proposed to eliminate the double taxation of corporate income. The proposal contains the germ of a good idea, but it is incomplete. Indeed, implementing it as is would be undesirable for several reasons: it would add to our burgeoning national debt and thus reduce...
The last decade has seen a surge in the use of the tax system to deliver dollars to families with children. As late as the early 1990s, the most important tax provision applying to children was the dependent exemption. For several decades, however, Congress failed to increase this exemption in...
[ Brookings Institution] President Bush's new tax plan is an answer in search of a question. It would provide little short-term stimulus. It seems unlikely to provide much of a long-term boost to growth or jobs. It is an incomplete way to reform corporate taxes. It would not boost investor...
This paper outlines the provisions of the Democratic alternative to the President's stimulus plan. Their plan would provide a one-time rebate to working people similar to the program implemented in 2001, but available without regard to tax status. The tax provisions proposed by the Democrats...
The President's stimulus plan would accelerate major elements of the income tax cuts enacted in 2001, provide additional temporary AMT relief, exempt dividends earned by individuals from income tax, and provide additional accelerated tax write-offs for small businesses. The tax provisions in the...
Tax Burden on Poor Families Has Declined Over Time
Families with children in poverty receive net subsidies from the federal income and payroll tax system, but that has not always been the case. In the 1970s, income tax filing thresholds were low, and even families in poverty who owed no income tax faced substantial payroll taxes. Congress...
Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth
The effect of fiscal policy on economic growth is a controversial and long-standing topic in economic theory, empirical research, and economic policymaking. It is at the heart of the policy debate surrounding the sharp increases in official federal budget surpluses in the 1990s, the equally...
The President's Proposal to Accelerate the Child Tax Credit and Related Options
The Presidents January 7, 2003 economic stimulus proposal for enhancing the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) would, in addition to ending the corporate taxation of dividends and speeding up tax rate and marriage penalty relief, accelerate the increase in the...
Do We Really Need More Stimulus?
Both the president and members of Congress have expressed strong political desire to appear to be "doing something" about the past recession and the current unemployment rate. This sentiment cuts across political parties and between the executive and congressional branches of government. In...
The President's Tax Proposal: Second Thoughts
On January 7, 2003, President Bush proposed a new package of tax cuts, consisting primarily of a new tax cut for dividends and capital gains on corporate stock and an acceleration of most but not all of the provisions of the 2001 tax cut that were scheduled to take effect in future years.1 In...
Taxing Capital Income Once
President Bush's recently proposed to eliminate the double taxation of corporate income. The proposal contains the germ of a good idea, but it is incomplete. Indeed, implementing it as is would be undesirable for several reasons: it would add to our burgeoning national debt and thus reduce...
Growth in the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits
The last decade has seen a surge in the use of the tax system to deliver dollars to families with children. As late as the early 1990s, the most important tax provision applying to children was the dependent exemption. For several decades, however, Congress failed to increase this exemption in...
The President's Tax Proposal: First Impressions
[ Brookings Institution] President Bush's new tax plan is an answer in search of a question. It would provide little short-term stimulus. It seems unlikely to provide much of a long-term boost to growth or jobs. It is an incomplete way to reform corporate taxes. It would not boost investor...
Tax Provisions in The Democratic Stimulus Proposal
This paper outlines the provisions of the Democratic alternative to the President's stimulus plan. Their plan would provide a one-time rebate to working people similar to the program implemented in 2001, but available without regard to tax status. The tax provisions proposed by the Democrats...
Tax Provisions in The President's Economic Stimulus Proposals
The President's stimulus plan would accelerate major elements of the income tax cuts enacted in 2001, provide additional temporary AMT relief, exempt dividends earned by individuals from income tax, and provide additional accelerated tax write-offs for small businesses. The tax provisions in the...