Bill Gale

How Not To Shut Down Federal Government Shutdowns

The other day, my Tax Policy Center colleague Bill Gale proposed a way to avoid the kind of government shutdown the nation has confronted for...

January 11, 2019Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Challenging Fiscal Environment For Big Tax Cuts

President Trump and Congress are likely to consider an historically broad range of tax and spending changes over the next year. But they’ll be doing...

February 3, 2017Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

A Case of Love, Death, Estates, and Taxes

I was 12 when I first heard “Little Red Corvette,” a profoundly racy song by the late musician Prince. I didn’t really understand the lyrics but remember shouting, “I love this song!” Even though English was their second language, my parents caught its meaning and were not fans. I just rolled my eyes, thinking “What’s wrong with a car?”

May 4, 2016Renu Zaretsky

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The Case of the Questionable Tax Incentive: Women and Retirement Savings

Twenty years ago, I turned 25 and earned my first raise. My older sister gave me some great advice: “When you get a raise always...

November 4, 2015Renu Zaretsky

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The Cost of the Bush Tax Cuts, and What It Might Mean

While GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has been reluctant to describe his tax plan as a tax cut, economists close to him have not. And newly-released cost estimates of his tax reform plan -- and their consequences--are worth considering. The very short version: His plan would add at least a

September 10, 2015Howard Gleckman

Business Taxes: TaxVox

Could a Carbon Tax Prevent The Catastrophic Consequences of Climate Change That Obama Fears?

In recent days, President Obama has painted the risks of climate change in apocalyptic terms. Speaking in Anchorage, AK on Monday, Obama warned that without quick action to slow or reverse global warming, "entire nations will find themselves under severe, severe problems: More drought. More floods

September 1, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Marco Rubio Wasn't the Only One Who Cashed Out an IRA Last Year

It is easy to mock Senator Marco Rubio, who cashed out $68,241 in IRA retirement funds last September. The GOP presidential hopeful, who made about $230,000 last year, told Fox News he needed the dough to prepare for his campaign, buy a new $3,000 refrigerator, and fix his busted a/c. As it happens

May 26, 2015Howard Gleckman

State and Local Issues: TaxVox

Can States Boost Growth By Cutting Top Individual Tax Rates?

States can generate powerful economic growth by cutting income tax rates. That, at least, is the theory behind a recent wave of tax cuts, or proposed tax cuts, around the country. Kansas has cut taxes repeatedly in recent years. So has Wisconsin. In Maine, Governor Paul LePage vows to repeal his

May 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Gale and DeLong Debate: Is the Budget Deficit Even a Problem?

Do deficits, or at least currently projected deficits, matter? It is an age-old question that’s going to get renewed attention in a Congress where Republicans have made no secret of their desire to cut government spending. Of course, cutting spending is not the same thing as reducing the deficit.

January 13, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

House GOP Leadership Would Require Dynamic Scoring of Some Tax Bills. Will It Matter?

Last night, the House Republican leadership proposed new rules that would require the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office to incorporate macroeconomic effects of “major” legislation into their official budget estimates. But there may be less to these new rules for so-

December 24, 2014Howard Gleckman