Presidential Candidates, “Free Stuff,” and Pixie Dust
Even in its early stages, the 2016 presidential race looks like it will be remembered for two depressing superlatives. The candidates will spend more money than ever before, and they will promise more...
View ArticleGimmicks Galore Litter the Boehner/Obama Budget Deal
There is a lot less than meets the eye to the budget deal agreed to last night by outgoing House Speaker John Boehner and the White House. The plan’s proposed new spending is real enough, but many of...
View ArticleWould Speaker Ryan Boost the Chances for Tax Reform? Not Until 2018
Paul Ryan has been an enthusiastic supporter of tax reform for years. Will his elevation to House Speaker make reform more likely? Perhaps, but not any time soon. Reform efforts got two big boosts this...
View ArticleBipartisan tax reform is possible: Lessons learned from President Bush’s...
It is presidential primary season and once again the tax code is a punching bag for politicians on both sides of the aisle. Listen to their rhetoric and it’s easy to conclude that the tax policy...
View ArticleTax Reform Is Possible, But It Won’t be Easy
At a Tax Policy Center conference on tax reform yesterday, Jason Furman, the chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, said that a major rewrite of the tax code would make little progress...
View ArticleShould governments tax products that are fun but harmful?
Should you face an extra tax if you drink soda? Eat potato chips? Uncork some wine? Light up a cigarette or joint? Toast yourself in a tanning booth? Many governments think so. Mexico taxes junk food....
View ArticleCould We Get the Tax Code Down to Three Pages? Why Would We Want To?
Republican presidential candidates say they want to slash the tax code. It is too big, too complicated, and too laden with provisions to help special interests. They are right. But in today’s world,...
View ArticleWould Two Year Budgeting Help Break the Fiscal Impasse?
Enormously frustrated with what everyone agrees is a largely failed budget process, thoughtful members of Congress are looking for reforms that could get fiscal policy back on track. Yesterday, the...
View ArticleThe Highway Bill Takes Congress on a FAST Track to More Debt
Sometime within the next few days, Congress will pass, with great fanfare, what it proudly calls a $305 billion, five-year transportation bill. But while the measure will authorize much needed...
View ArticleBush’s Tax Plan Would Add $6.8 Trillion to the National Debt, Benefit...
Jeb Bush’s tax plan would boost deficits by $6.8 trillion between 2016 and 2026 and overwhelmingly benefit the highest income taxpayers, according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. With added...
View ArticleWhy You Should Pay Attention to the Presidential Candidates’ Tax Proposals
The presidential election is nearly a year away, but many candidates have already rolled out detailed tax reform plans. On the GOP side, we’ve seen proposals from Jeb Bush (the subject of a rigorous...
View ArticleThe Hidden Agenda Behind This Year’s Tax Extender Bill
While Republican presidential hopefuls were debating in Las Vegas, congressional leaders announced they had agreed to restore and extend dozens of special interest tax cuts—many permanently. And those...
View ArticleThe TaxVox Lump of Coal Awards for the Ten Worst Tax Ideas of 2015
It is time for TaxVox’s annual Lump of Coal awards for the worst tax ideas (or most depressing tax stories) of 2015. As always, choosing the Top 10 was not easy, but here they are: 10. The Michigan...
View ArticleTrump Would Slash Taxes for the Top 0.1 Percent By An Average of $1.3...
Donald Trump’s tax plan would add $9.5 trillion to the national debt from 2016 to 2026 and another $15 trillion in the following decade (before added interest), according to a new analysis by the Tax...
View ArticleFive Questions to Ask When You Look at a Presidential Candidate’s Tax Plan
I recently suggested that voters look seriously at the tax proposals being touted by presidential candidates, even though those plans have little chance of ever becoming law as proposed. But what...
View ArticleWhat Can Congress and President Obama Accomplish in 2016?
Can Congress and President Obama, who have battled over policy for seven years, reach consensus over key tax and other issues in the months leading up to the 2016 election? To ask the question is...
View ArticleBernie Sanders Is Proposing Really Big Tax Increases
It is hard to grasp the enormity of the tax increases Bernie Sanders is proposing, how far out-of-step he is with recent economic history in the U.S., and what a stunning contrast he presents with...
View ArticleObama Proposes to Fix the Cadillac Tax
In the budget he plans to release tomorrow, President Obama will propose some modest changes to the Affordable Care Act’s much-reviled Cadillac Tax on high-cost employer sponsored health plans. In...
View ArticleThe White House Quietly Rolls Out Its Last Tax and Budget Plan
If the White House wanted to attract attention to its final budget, it could not have picked a worse day to make it public. With official Washington obsessed with today’s New Hampshire primary, the...
View ArticleRubio’s Ambitious Consumption Tax Would Reduce Revenue by $6.8 Trillion, Give...
Senator Marco Rubio would convert the income tax into a progressive consumption tax, an ambitious idea that would eliminate the income tax’s penalty on saving. However, a new Tax Policy Center analysis...
View ArticleCruz’s Flat Tax + VAT Would Cut Revenues By $8.6 Trillion
GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz’s aggressive plan to shift the tax code from a mostly income-based system to one based on consumption would slash federal revenues by $8.6 trillion over the next...
View ArticleHow The GOP Candidate’s Tax Plans Stack Up Against One Another
How do the Republican presidential candidate tax plans stack up against one another? Who has the biggest tax cut? How do their plans affect people in different income groups? The Tax Policy Center has...
View ArticleThe GOP Proposed Tax Cuts Would be Unprecedented
Howard Gleckman pointed out that a common theme in the GOP primary tax proposals is that they are huge tax cuts. But how do they stand up to George W. Bush’s tax cuts, JFK’s oft-cited across-the-board...
View ArticleHow Should We Use the Revenue from Taxing Carbon?
Adele Morris co-authored this post. A US carbon tax could raise $1 trillion or more in new revenue over the next decade. There is no shortage of ways to use it. Tax reformers want to cut business and...
View ArticleAuerbach and Gale Find the U.S. Is Heading For a Fiscal Danger Zone
As you consider the lavish promises of various presidential candidates, here’s a bit of useful context: Even without the effects of promised tax cuts or new spending, the long-term fiscal outlook is...
View ArticleHillary Clinton Would Raise Taxes On High-Income Households By $1.1 Trillion...
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton would raise taxes on businesses and high-income households while making minimal changes to the after-tax incomes of those with low and moderate incomes,...
View ArticleSanders Proposes An Historic Tax Increase To Fund New Social Spending
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has proposed a tax increase of $15.3 trillion over the next decade, according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. The tax hikes-- which would...
View ArticleClinton and Sanders Take Two Different Paths to Taxing the Rich
Let’s say you’re a Democrat who wants to raise taxes on rich people. It turns out there are two very different ways to do it: The direct, simple, in-your-face Bernie Sanders version and the indirect,...
View ArticleThe Challenges of Modeling Presidential Tax Plans
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget sponsored a fascinating discussion yesterday on estimating presidential candidate tax plans. My Tax Policy Center colleague Len Burman, Kyle Pomerleau of...
View ArticleTaxes on the Rich May Change a Lot in 2017
Aaron Krupkin co-authored this article. It’s good to be rich. Depending on who becomes the next president, it could get a lot better or a lot worse. Thanks to our colleagues at the Tax Policy Center,...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....