Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Is Obama Closing Retirement Savings Loopholes or Just Curbing Congress’ Generosity?

In his upcoming budget, President Obama will propose to strip away the “loopholes” that permit wealthy individuals to accumulate large amounts in tax-favored retirement plans. He would prohibit a taxpayer from contributing any more to IRAs or other qualified retirement plans once his or her
January 28, 2015Steven M. Rosenthal
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

How Obama’s Tax Plan Will Redistribute Income from the Very Rich To The Poor

President Obama’s latest tax package, which he’ll unveil in detail next week along with his new budget, would lower taxes for low-income households and significantly raise taxes for the highest income 1 percent—those making $663,000 or more, according to new Tax Policy Center estimates . Middle-
January 28, 2015Howard Gleckman
: Daily Deduction

If You Tax It Will They Change?

“There’s no tax-driven move in baseball!” At least not for ace starting pitcher Max Scherzer. He recently signed to play for the Washington Nationals for $210 million and there’s been speculation that DC’s tax laws helped seal the deal. TPC’s Richard Auxier reminds us that taxes are a little like
January 28, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0002 - Major Tax Provisions Outlined in President Obama's State of the Union Address, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2016

January 27, 2015
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0003 - Major Individual Income Tax Provisions Outlined in President Obama's State of the Union Address, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Level, 2016

January 27, 2015
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0001 - Major Tax Provisions Outlined in President Obama's State of the Union Address, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Level, 2016

January 27, 2015
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0004 - Major Individual Income Tax Provisions Outlined in President Obama's State of the Union Address, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2016

January 27, 2015
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0005 - President Obama's State of the Union Proposal: Capital Gains Provisions, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Level, 2016

January 27, 2015
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

T15-0006 - President Obama's State of the Union Proposal: Capital Gains Provisions, Baseline: Current Law, Distribution of Federal Tax Change by Expanded Cash Income Percentile, 2016

January 27, 2015
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Pitching, Defense, and State Tax Policy

The Washington Nationals' signing of Max Scherzer —one of the best starting pitchers in baseball—ignited a few sports-talk debates: Do the Nationals have the best rotation in the history of the game ? Can DC win its first World Series title since 1924? Did the District's tax laws help land the
January 27, 2015Richard C. Auxier
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

New Evidence on Our Fiscal Status

CBO’s new budget projections are an opportunity to take stock of the country’s fiscal situation. At the risk of oversimplifying, the report contains one piece of good news, and two of bad news. The bottom line: The sky is not falling but policymakers have fallen short of solving the long-term
January 27, 2015William G. Gale
: TaxVox

Who Deserves a [Tax] Break Today?

Is dynamic scoring ready for prime time? At a TPC-Hutchins Center program yesterday, backers and critics debated whether congressional scorekeepers should include macroeconomic effects of tax changes when doing a budget score. They disagreed, of course, but did agree that if the tool is used, it
January 27, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Is Dynamic Scoring of Tax Bills Ready For Prime Time?

The House has instructed the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office to factor in the macroeconomic effects of tax law changes when calculating the official budget score of revenue bills. But are existing models up to the task of what’s commonly called dynamic scoring? A
January 26, 2015Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Dynamic Scoring: Now What?

A pending rule change in the House of Representatives will require the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office to incorporate macroeconomic effects into official price-tags on certain pieces of major legislation. This remains controversial. It’s also hard to do well. The
January 26, 2015
: TaxVox

Got Growth? Dynamic Scoring, Deductions and Governors

The GOP says it wants a revolution, but who’s going to change the world? Long touted as a way to prove that tax cuts can pay for themselves by the economic growth they generate, “dynamic scoring” of federal legislation is no simple task. Today’s TPC-Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
January 26, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Obama Would Improve Tax Subsidies for Higher Education

President Obama will feature higher education prominently in next week’s budget—a choice that makes sense, given that educational attainment is the most straightforward pathway for economic advancement. Many of his ideas, which he highlighted in his State of the Union address, are controversial.
January 25, 2015Kim S. RuebenSandy Baum
Business Taxes

Corporate Inversions and Tax Policy

Corporate inversions, which change the tax home of a multinational corporation by merging it with a foreign company that then becomes the parent of the multinational group, received considerable attention in 2014, including from the IRS, which in September released a notice describing regulations
January 23, 2015
: TaxVox

Corporate Tax Reform: No Easy Fixes

Territorial tax systems abroad may not be good models for corporate reform here. A new TPC paper warns against drawing quick and easy conclusions from the territorial tax systems in other developed countries. While Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee
January 23, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Obama Would Simplify and Expand Spending and Tax Subsidies for Child Care

President Obama proposed three important changes to the way the federal government helps families with child care costs – increase direct subsidies for low-income families, increase tax credits for middle- and higher income families, and simplify the tax code (and offset some of the cost of the
January 22, 2015Elaine Maag
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

A Look at the Territorial Tax Systems in Four Countries Finds No Magic Bullets

It is an article of faith among many tax reformers that the U.S. should shift from a worldwide tax system to a territorial regime in which U.S.-based multinational corporations pay U.S. tax only on their domestic income. Such a step would reduce or eliminate tax on the dividends these firms receive
January 22, 2015Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox

Tax Policy and Politics: More of the Same

Wait, are Ds and Rs really on the same page? In remarks yesterday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew expressed optimism for a business tax overhaul, noting a “ great deal of overlap ” between the White House framework and recent Republican proposals. House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan agreed that
January 22, 2015Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Adjusting the President’s Capital Gains Proposal

President Obama’s new proposal to tax capital gains at death is a welcome change that would close a huge loophole, but it suffers from a serious flaw: For some assets, it would be a record-keeping nightmare. Fortunately, there is an easy fix. The proposal is part of a broader tax plan that Obama
January 21, 2015William G. Gale
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

President Obama’s Middle-Class Tax Message in the State of the Union

President Obama’s tax proposals for the middle class were a key element of his State of the Union address. But they represent only relatively modest efforts to create subsidies through the tax code rather than through other departments of government. Looked at broadly, many only tinker around the
January 21, 2015C. Eugene Steuerle
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Retirement Security a Priority in the 2015 State of the Union

In the 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama made retirement security a priority for his Administration by promoting the Automatic IRA , a retirement savings plan that originated at the Retirement Security Project . The proposals would increase the ability of part-time workers to join
January 21, 2015William G. GaleDavid C. John
: TaxVox

Taxing the Rich: It’s a Plan Abroad, Too

The State of the Union: Tax reform depends on where you are sitting. In his State of the Union Address last night, President Obama called on Congress to address wealth inequality through the tax code, largely by increasing the capital gains tax and imposing a bank tax to fund tax relief for middle-
January 21, 2015Renu Zaretsky