TaxVox: Federal Budget and Economy

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The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

Buffett Rule Revenue

May 4, 2012 –
Critics of the Buffett Rule often argue that the idea is hardly worth the trouble since it would raise taxes on less than a tenth...
Individual Taxes

The very unRepublican Small Business Tax Cut

April 24, 2012 –
My Tax Policy Center colleague Eric Toder and I are mystified by how unRepublican the House GOP’s Small Business Tax Cut Act really is. Sure,...
Federal Budget and Economy

Letting the Bush/Obama Tax Cuts Expire Would Raise Average Taxes by $3,000

April 19, 2012 –
It has sometimes been said, even by me, that the easiest way for Congress and the White House to fix the deficit is to do…...
Federal Budget and Economy

Will the 2010 Health Law Cut the Deficit or Add to It?

April 10, 2012 –
In a new study , Chuck Blahous, who is a public trustee for Medicare and Social Security, concludes that the 2010 health law will add...
Federal Budget and Economy

Using Tax Exempt Bonds to Demolish Homes: Another View

April 10, 2012 –
Last week, I blogged about a plan to use tax-exempt bonds to finance the demolition of vacant homes in distressed Midwestern neighborhoods. Rolf Pendall, director...
Individual Taxes

How Big Are Tax Preferences?

April 9, 2012 –
The tax code is chock full of credits, deductions, deferrals, exclusions, exemptions, and preferential rates. Taken together, such tax preferences will total almost $1.3 trillion...
Federal Budget and Economy

Should Muni Bonds Pay To Demolish Buildings?

April 5, 2012 –
Two Ohio Members of Congress have introduced a bill to allow states to issue tax-exempt bonds to demolish buildings. Not to build them, but to...
Individual Taxes

There is No Health Care Tax on Most Home Sales. Really.

April 2, 2012 –
It is the unfounded rumor that never dies: You will have to pay a 3.8 percent federal health care tax on the sale of your...
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...
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...