TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

State and Local Issues

How Would the Kansas Senate Close the State’s Budget Gap? Mostly by Taxing Poor People

June 12, 2015 –
Kansas is grappling with a self-inflicted budget crisis . In 2012 and 2013, the state decided to experiment with major income tax cuts and an...

“We’re [still] on a road to nowhere.”

June 12, 2015 –
What might happen to federal highway funding? Clues next week? Both tax-writing committees will hold hearings on long-term funding for the Highway...
State and Local Issues

While Washington’s Efforts to Fund Roads Go Nowhere, Red States Are Raising Gas Taxes

June 10, 2015 –
In about six weeks, federal money to keep the Highway Trust Fund going will once again dry up and Congress will begin its predictable scramble to...

It depends on what your definition of “pledge” is…

June 9, 2015 –
WWND: Louisiana lawmakers ask Grover Norquist to weigh in on Governor Bobby Jindal’s tax plan. Eleven members of the state’s House sent a letter to...
Federal Budget and Economy

Obama-Era Tax Reform: RIP

June 8, 2015 –
If you still thought there was any chance Congress would pass tax reform before the next election, you can officially abandon hope. In an online...

No Pain, No Gain: Taxes, Disclosures, and Data

June 8, 2015 –
Some GOP Kansas legislators may wish they could pack their bags and go home. And they did, over the weekend, but will be back in session today to try...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Choose your tax system: progressive vs. regressive

June 5, 2015 –
Last week my Tax Policy Center colleague Len Burman explained some of the problems with the FairTax, a single-rate national retail sales tax. The...

On Exercises in Futility

June 5, 2015 –
The drive to a Highway Funding bill heads toward a cliff: The sequel. Congressional Democrats are digging in their heels and insisting that...
Individual Taxes

How Many Americans Get Government Assistance? All of Us

June 4, 2015 –
The other day, the Census Bureau put out a new report that concluded about one-in-five Americans received government benefits in 2012. But the study...
Individual Taxes

School’s Out: What If Parents Take the Tax Money and Run?

June 3, 2015 –
We moved last year—from Florida, a state with relatively poor public schools, to a strong school district in Michigan. Our property taxes are higher...