Tax Policy Center

Bush’s Tax Plan Would Add $6.8 Trillion to the National Debt, Benefit High-Income Households

Jeb Bush’s tax plan would boost deficits by $6.8 trillion between 2016 and 2026 and overwhelmingly benefit the highest income taxpayers, according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. With added interest costs, the plan would boost the national debt by more than $8 trillion by 2026. After

December 7, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The GOP Debate: Squabbles Over Refundable Credits, Deductions, and Conservatisim

Last night’s GOP presidential debates ( here’s a transcript of the main event) highlighted some important tax policy contrasts among the candidates. One thought refundable credits are conservative economic policy while another did not. Nearly all would preserve deductions for mortgage interest and

November 11, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Tax Reform Is Possible, But It Won’t be Easy

At a Tax Policy Center conference on tax reform yesterday, Jason Furman, the chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, said that a major rewrite of the tax code would make little progress until Congress breaks the current impasse over the treatment of pass-throughs-- firms such as

November 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Little Difference Between the Cadillac Tax and a Cap on the Tax Exclusion for Employer Health Plans

In the face of widespread criticism of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost employer sponsored health insurance plans ( the Cadillac Tax ), some lawmakers have backed an alternative: a cap on the current tax exclusion for employer contributions to health insurance. To learn how the two

October 22, 2015Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Trump Proposes a Huge Tax Cut

Donald Trump, who likes superlatives, has weighed in with his version of a standard cut-the-rates, broaden-the-base tax reform . And like many other GOP tax rewrite proposals, this one appears to be an enormous tax cut skewed largely in favor of high-income households. While Trump claims the plan

September 28, 2015Howard Gleckman

State and Local Issues: TaxVox

Most State Budgets Are Improving But Their Long-Term Prospects Remain Uncertain

If you are not an energy dependent state, things ought to be pretty good, at least in the short-term. The economy is improving, though slowly, The Rockefeller Institute reported this morning that state tax revenues grew by 5.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and by 7.6 percent in the

September 17, 2015Howard Gleckman

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

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Jeb Bush’s Tax Plan: High Marks for Transparency But Key Questions Remain

At first glance, GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush’s tax reform plan is a standard lower-the-rates, broaden-the-base overhaul of the revenue code. But a closer look shows a something-for-everyone stew filled with interesting ingredients—most basic GOP fare but seasoned with a few surprising ideas.

September 9, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Why Individual Tax Revenues Will Grow Even If Congress Doesn’t Raise Taxes

The other day, I wrote about new Congressional Budget Office estimates that individual income tax revenues are likely to grow significantly over the next decade. A new paper by my Tax Policy Center colleagues Jim Nunns and Jeff Rohaly shows the importance of this trend through the rest of the

September 3, 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