Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0113 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009", Conference Report: Major Individual Tax Provisions, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of individual tax provisions in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. Proposal includes the Making Work Pay Credit, Home Buyer's Credit, Economic Recovery Payments,
February 19, 2009
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Making Work Pay for Couples

co-authored with Mark Greenberg, Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy During the Presidential campaign, Barack Obama talked about the Making Work Pay tax credit as being an offset to the payroll tax on the first $8,100 of earnings for each worker (6.2% * $8,100 = about $500). During the campaign, Tax Policy Center analyzed the credit in the context of individual earnings – even in the case of married couples. If only one partner worked, we assumed the maximum credit for the couple was $500 and if two partners worked, TPC assumed the maximum credit increased to $1,000. Not so, as it turns out.
February 19, 2009Elaine Maag
State and Local Issues: Research report

The Economic Crisis and the Fiscal Crisis: 2009 and Beyond

In 2009, the federal deficit will be larger as a share of the economy than at any time since the 1940s. After 2009, we project an average deficit of $1 trillion per year for the next 10 years, under optimistic assumptions. The longer-run picture is even bleaker, with a fiscal gap of 7-9 percent of
February 19, 2009Alan J. AuerbachWilliam G. Gale
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Making the Stimulus Tax Cuts Permanent Would Cost $1.7 Trillion

Many of the tax cuts in the stimulus bill President Obama signed today are built on the legislative fantasy that they will expire after a year or two. The reality is that Congress and Obama are likely to continue these tax breaks long after the economy recovers. And the price of doing so will be staggering: Making just four of the most popular individual tax cuts in the bill permanent would reduce federal revenues by more than $1.7 trillion from 2010 through 2019. They'd be more than three times more generous than the bill’s spending initiatives, which are expected to cost a mere $500 billion.
February 17, 2009Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0111 - Extension of Stimulus Provisions Impact on Individual Income Tax Revenue ($ billions), 2010-19

Impact on individual income tax revenue due to extending certian 2009 Stimulus provisions through 2019. Provisions include the AMT patch, Making Work Pay Credit, Economic Recovery Payments, Earned Income Tax credit and Child Tax Credit expansion.
February 16, 2009
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Congress Is Missing An Easy Way to Get Cash to Businesses

The one tax issue that still seems unresolved in the stimulus debate involves a provision that would let businesses convert current losses into cash. The measure would allow a firm that is losing money in today's recession to redo up to five years worth of tax returns. That way it could use those losses to get a refund of some taxes it paid in past years. The ability to carry back these Net Operating Losses for up to five years could be an important boost to cash-strapped companies. Like many individuals, businesses desperately crave cash now. Many cannot borrow in the constipated credit markets, their sales are plummeting, and a little more operating cash may be the difference between having to lay off more workers or keeping them on the job. The NOL carryback is an easy way to get quick money to these businesses.
February 13, 2009Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: Research report

Tax Stimulus Report Card: Conference Bill

This report card evaluates the provisions of the Finance and Ways & Means Committees' conference tax stimulus bill (the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009"). The evaluation is preliminary and does not include all of the provisions in the bill most notably we omit provisions
February 13, 2009Rosanne AltshulerLeonard E. BurmanHoward GleckmanDan HalperinBenjamin H. HarrisElaine MaagKim S. RuebenEric ToderRoberton C. Williams
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Low-Income Families and Children

T09-0101 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Making Work Pay Credit and Economic Recovery Payments, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income level, of the Making Work Pay Credit and the Economic Recovery Payments from the "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. The Making Work Pay credit is equal to the first 6.2% of earned
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Low-Income Families and Children

T09-0102 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Making Work Pay Credit and Economic Recovery Payments, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of the Making Work Pay Credit and the Economic Recovery Payments from the "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. The Making Work Pay credit is equal to the first 6.2% of
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0103 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Making Work Pay Credit, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income level, of the Making Work Pay Credit from the "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. The Making Work Pay credit is equal to the first 6.2% of earned income up to a maximum credit of $
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0104 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Making Work Pay Credit, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of the Making Work Pay Credit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. The Making Work Pay credit is equal to the first 6.2% of earned income up to a maximum credit of $
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Earned Income Tax Credit

T09-0105 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income level, of the expanded earned income tax credit in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported by the conference agreement. The proposal increases the earned income tax credit percentage for families with three or more
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Earned Income Tax Credit

T09-0106 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of the expanded earned income tax credit in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. The proposal increases the earned income tax credit percentage for families with three or
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0107 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $3,000, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income level, of the reduction of the child tax refundability threshold to $3,000 in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement.
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0108 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009": Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $3,000, Conference Report, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of the reduction of the child tax refundability threshold to $3,000 in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement.
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0109 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" Conference Report: Major Individual and Corporate Tax Provisions Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income level, of individual and corporate tax provisions in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. Proposal includes the Making Work Pay Credit, Home Buyer's Credit, Economic Recovery
February 12, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: 2009 Stimulus Proposals

T09-0110 - "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" Conference Report: Major Individual and Corporate Tax Provisions Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

2009 distribution of federal tax change, by cash income percentile, of individual and corporate tax provisions in "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009" as reported in the conference agreement. Proposal includes the Making Work Pay Credit, Home Buyer's Credit, Economic Recovery
February 12, 2009
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Tax Stimulus: It Could Have Been Worse

House-Senate conferees have just about wrapped up a compromise $789 billion stimulus plan that should land on President Obama’s desk by the weekend. While we do not yet have bill language or revenue estimates, published reports suggest that about one-third of the compromise measure is made up of tax cuts. For the most part, the final version of those tax breaks is worse than the initial House proposal. Most troublesome, this measure waters down two important proposals that would have gotten money into the economy rather quickly and instead adds a $70 billion Alternative Minimum Tax patch that will do little to boost spending—the goal of any good stimulus.
February 11, 2009Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Big Spending Moderates

The press has widely reported that the difference between Senate and House stimulus bills is mostly about tax cuts (Senate) versus spending (House). That's wrong. The main difference is about who runs the spending programs-the IRS or program agencies In fact, the Senate bill includes some major expansions in spending--notably, subsidies for car and home buyers--and cuts in others, such as aid to state and local governments. The new Senate spending was presented as tax cuts, but that is simply window dressing. The add-ons are spending programs, and particularly ineffective ones at that.
February 11, 2009Leonard E. Burman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Senate Stimulus: It is Getting Worse

The Senate has made the stimulus worse. At a cost of $130 billion, the bill the Senate passed today added three tax provisions that would do little to boost consumer spending--the key to digging us out of our economic hole The stimulus losers: patching the Alternative Minimum Tax for another year ($70 billion), giving a new tax subsidy to homebuyers ($39 billion), and providing new car buyers with a new tax break ($11 billion).
February 10, 2009Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0093 - Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $8,100 Baseline: Current Law Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

Distribution tables of federal tax change by cash income level for the proposal to reduce the earnings threshold for refundability for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to $8,100 for 2009 against a current law baseline.
February 10, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0094 - Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $8,100 Baseline: Current Law Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

Distribution tables of federal tax change by cash income percentile for the proposal to reduce the earnings threshold for refundability for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to $8,100 for 2009 against a current law baseline.
February 10, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0096 - Reduce Child Tax Credit (CTC) Refundability Threshold to $8,100 Baseline: Current Law Distribution of Tax Units with Benefit, 2009

Distribution of tax benefits to tax units affected by the reduction of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) earnings refundability threshold to $8,100 in 2009 against a current law baseline.
February 10, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0097 - Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $8,100 Baseline: $8,500 Refundability Threshold Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Level, 2009

Distribution tables of federal tax change by cash income level for the proposal to reduce the earnings threshold for refundability for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to $8,100 for 2009 against a current law baseline with a $8,500 threshold.
February 10, 2009
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Child Tax Credit

T09-0098 - Reduce Child Tax Credit Refundability Threshold to $8,100 Baseline: $8,500 Refundability Threshold Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Cash Income Percentile, 2009

Distribution tables of federal tax change by cash income percentile for the proposal to reduce the earnings threshold for refundability for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to $8,100 for 2009 against a current law baseline with a $8,500 threshold.
February 10, 2009