TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Federal Budget and Economy

Ryan Would Shift the Fiscal Burden to Low and Middle-Income Households

March 27, 2012 –
The budget proposal House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released last week is, essentially, an effort to have low- and middle-class households bear the...
State and Local Issues

Tax Policy in the Wrong Direction: Eliminating or Reducing State Income Tax

March 27, 2012 –
Oklahoma, Nebraska, and my home state of Kansas are debating proposals to sharply reduce or eliminate their personal income tax. That raises important questions about...
Federal Budget and Economy

The Federal Government Spends Lots More than You Think

March 26, 2012 –
When we talk about the federal budget, we usually rely on the government’s official definition of “spending” which is to say the amount of money...
Federal Budget and Economy

Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan: More Big Tax Cuts for the Rich

March 23, 2012 –
No surprise here, but the tax cuts in Paul Ryan’s 2013 budget plan would result in huge benefits for high-income people and very modest—or no—...
Federal Budget and Economy

The Budget Message Paul Ryan Really Sent

March 22, 2012 –
Paul Ryan may not have intended it, but his 2013 budget is the strongest argument I’ve seen for why any serious fiscal plan must include...
Federal Budget and Economy

Will Obama’s 2013 Budget Raise or Lower Taxes? Yes.

March 21, 2012 –
Republicans like to say President Obama is a chronic, unrepentant tax-raiser. Obama himself used to say he was a tax-cutter but now touts himself as...
Federal Budget and Economy

Ryan's Mystery Meat Budget

March 20, 2012 –
I am weary of mystery meat. The latest serving was dished out today by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), who released a fiscal...
Individual Taxes

No Obvious Relationship between Capital Gains Tax Rates and Economic Growth

March 19, 2012 –
If you read the editorial page of financial newspapers, you might conclude that no aspect of tax policy is more important for economic growth than...
Federal Budget and Economy

Time to End Washington’s Trust Fund Gimmicks

March 16, 2012 –
Why do we bother with government trust funds? As the Senate’s just-passed highway bill proved yet again, Congress is turning these funds into little more...
Individual Taxes

The Buffett Rule Can’t Pay for AMT Repeal

March 15, 2012 –
Congress originally enacted the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to make sure that high-income folks would pay at least a minimum amount of income tax. Sound...