Tax Policy Center

tax expenditures

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox
After President Obama proposed, and rapidly abandoned, a plan to curb the tax advantages of Sec. 529 college savings accounts, several wise observers, including my friend David Wessel at Brookings, saw an object lesson for broad-based tax reform. To wit: If lawmakers can’t ditch a single $1 billion
January 30, 2015Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox
“ Oh, what a night …” but no shut down. Ted Cruz and a handful of allies succeeded in delaying the Senate vote on the 2015 budget, but they couldn’t stop it. The $1.1 trillion spending bill was approved late Saturday night by a vote of 56-40 . And three months into the fiscal year, most of the
December 15, 2014Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox
Sadly, the House Ways & Means Committee has turned on its head a proposal by its chairman, Dave Camp (R-MI) to repeal bonus depreciation for business capital investment. Instead of scrapping the measure, which Congress originally passed in 2008 as a temporary anti-recession tonic, the panel has
May 29, 2014Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox
In his new book, Dead Men Ruling , my Tax Policy Center colleague Gene Steuerle delivers a powerful indictment of the current epidemic of irresponsible fiscal policy. But Gene isn’t writing about deficits and today's economy. His focus is on the long-term political, social, and economic
May 13, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox
Egged on by business lobbyists, congressional tax writers seem increasingly interested in allowing firms to rapidly write off the cost of their capital investments. Especially in the House, lawmakers would allow small businesses to expense the full cost of their investments in the year they are
April 17, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox
What to do about the tax extenders—or, as my colleague Donald Marron calls them, the “tax expirers” ? Restoring the current crop (most of which expired on December 31) for 10 years would add about $900 billion to the deficit. House Ways & Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-MI) and Senate
April 3, 2014C. Eugene Steuerle
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox
Maybe the best way for tax reformers to get political traction is to focus on values, not economics. That, at least, was one take-away from three political scientists who spoke at a Tax Policy Center panel today. Until now, backers of reform have focused primarily on economic arguments: A reformed
March 31, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), about to become the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Friday that he aims to eventually rewrite what he...
February 10, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox
When Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty 50 years ago this month, he could not have imagined how many battles would be fought through...
January 16, 2014Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox
Who benefits from the tax credits, deductions and exclusions that have become such an integral part of the modern tax code? Nearly all of us...
December 19, 2013Howard Gleckman