TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Federal Budget and Economy

Bowles-Simpson Budget Reform and Ecstatic Memory

June 26, 2012 –
Have you noticed that as the details of the tough budget reform proposed by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles fade into memory, more politicians are...
Individual Taxes

A New Look at an Old Consumption Tax

June 21, 2012 –
Twenty-five years ago, Princeton economist David Bradford designed what he called the X Tax . The idea--a progressive consumption tax--generated lots of discussion among tax...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Listen Closely When Romney Talks About Taxes

June 19, 2012 –
When Mitt Romney talks about his plan for tax reform, he is very careful to say two things: He wants to cut tax rates, and...
Individual Taxes

Payroll Taxes Cover About a Third of Medicare Costs

June 15, 2012 –
I get the impression that many Americans believe Medicare is financed like Social Security. They know that a portion of payroll taxes goes to Social...
Federal Budget and Economy

Romney and Obama: Big Speeches, Little Vision

June 14, 2012 –
Yesterday, Mitt Romney laid out what his campaign said was his vision for health reform . Today, he followed that up with a talk on...
Individual Taxes

The Wide Tax Reform Gulf Between Baucus and Camp

June 12, 2012 –
Yesterday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), who rarely gives public speeches, laid out his agenda for tax reform. Just for fun, I compared...
Federal Budget and Economy

The “Tax Expirers”

June 8, 2012 –
Today I had the chance to testify before the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee about a perennial challenge, the...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Should We Delay the Tax Cut Debate Until Early 2013?

June 7, 2012 –
Over the past week or so, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Glenn Hubbard have all made the same suggestion: Congress should extend all of the...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

The Better Base Case

June 5, 2012 –
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest update , released today, provides a snapshot of fiscal policy in the short run, the medium term, and the long...
Federal Budget and Economy

Is the GOP Tax Reform Strategy a Fiscal Trap?

May 31, 2012 –
I recently blogged on Doug Holtz-Eakin’s four-step framework for tax reform. His roadmap—first agree on a progressive tax code, a top rate, and the total...