Renaissance Technologies, an investment manager, is once again showing how to aggressively manipulate the tax system for its own benefit. This time, Renaissance is helping its owners/employees (who are some of the wealthiest individuals in the country) to shelter tens of millions of dollars in tax-

Another presidential candidate floats a flat tax, but would it sink under its own weight? This time it’s GOP contender Rand Paul. He’d replace the tax code with 14.5 percent in federal tax on all personal income, including wages, investment income, and rents. He’d repeal the Social Security and

Despite calls for more infrastructure spending from both Congress and the Obama administration, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the primary source of federal transportation dollars, is again on the clock after another short-term extension with no financing plan in place. The House Ways and Means

Unlike those GOP presidential hopefuls who say their tax reforms would raise the same amount of money as the current tax code, even when their actual proposals would not, Senator Rand Paul isn’t being shy. He’s promising a great big fat tax cut (described in this Wall Street Journal column). And

Yesterday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced the Remote Transactions Parity Act , which would clarify how states can require out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on online purchases. The measure is modeled on a bill sponsored by Mike Enzi (R-WY) and others that overwhelmingly passed the

Kansas is grappling with a self-inflicted budget crisis . In 2012 and 2013, the state decided to experiment with major income tax cuts and an exemption of most small business and partnership income aimed at boosting the economy. The experiment is not going well to say the least. Now, faced with a

IRS funding bill sets the stage for a budget standoff. The House would cut the agency’s funding by 7.7 percent, or $838 million, from this year’s levels. That’s $2.8 billion short of what the White House wants and roughly equal to the agency’s resources 17 years ago. The IRS currently has a hiring