TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Individual Taxes

Why the Tax Code is a Mess, Graphically

September 12, 2011 –
I just came across this bar chart, which illustrates graphically why the tax code is such a mess. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is...
Federal Budget and Economy

Obama's Jobs Plan: Great Theater, Uncertain Policy

September 9, 2011 –
When you get right down to it, the jobs plan President Obama proposed before a joint session of Congress last night was built on three...
State and Local Issues

California Accepts a Deal – Maybe

September 8, 2011 –
Legislative leaders in California, big box stores, and Amazon have reached an agreement to delay internet tax collection until September 2012. There is no word...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Rick Perry’s Social Security Myth

September 8, 2011 –
Texas Governor Rick Perry is being rightly criticized for his loony claims about Social Security in last night’s GOP presidential debate. But what troubles me...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Will Romney’s Modest Capital Gains Tax Cut Hurt With the GOP?

September 6, 2011 –
Welcome to the season of jobs plans. GOP presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman offered his last week. President Obama will propose his before Thursday night's football...
State and Local Issues

Amazon Makes Jerry Brown an Offer He Can’t Refuse – Yet He Might

September 2, 2011 –
After threats and tough talk for most of the summer, Amazon seems to be changing tactics in its battle against collecting sales tax on purchases...
Federal Budget and Economy

The Do-Nothing Fiscal Fix: Recipe for Recession

September 1, 2011 –
Given Washington’s endless partisan nastiness—and thanks to some updated estimates by the Congressional Budget Office--it seems like a good time to revisit an old idea:...
Individual Taxes

Why Investors Pay Less Tax than the Rest of Us

August 31, 2011 –
After I wrote last week about Warren Buffett’s New York Times op-ed on the low tax rates paid by wealthy investors, Tax Policy Center visiting...
Federal Budget and Economy

A Grim Prognosis for Deficit Reduction

August 30, 2011 –
The other day, I spent a few hours with some of Washington’s most experienced budget experts. The session was off-the-record, so I can’t tell you...
Individual Taxes

CBO’s Simple Story about the Deficit

August 26, 2011 –
A graph on the cover of the Congressional Budget Office’s summer budget update illustrates two policy paths we could pursue over the coming decade. One...