Tax Information

Distributional Effects of Individual Income Tax Expenditures: An Update

LaurenRingman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Tax expenditures on average raise after-tax incomes more for upper-income than for lower-income taxpayers. As a share of income, special rates for capital gains and dividends and itemized deductions provide the largest benefits for taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income distribution, exemptions and exclusions benefit taxpayers in upper middle-income groups the most, and refundable credits provide the largest benefits to those in the bottom two quintiles of the distribution.

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Distributional Effects of Individual Income Tax Expenditures: An Update

Tax Extenders and Tax Reform

BastaMoffit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:38:45 +0000

On Tuesday, I testified before the Senate Finance Committee at a hearing titled “ Extenders and Tax Reform: Seeking Long-Term Solutions .” I was already depressed about the state of our tax system before I started preparing. As I drafted my testimony, I became distraught

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Tax Extenders and Tax Reform

Three Strikes and You’re Out for Tax Extenders

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:01:51 +0000

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on “Extenders and Tax Reform: Seeking Long-Term Solutions.” It’s about time! The charade of annual or biennial debate about perpetually “expiring” tax provisions is terrible tax policy and a symbol of our failure to come to terms with budget reality. If you need help sleeping, download the Joint Committee on Taxation’s (JCT’s) annual list of expiring tax provisions —tax laws that have built in sunset dates

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Three Strikes and You’re Out for Tax Extenders

What a Value-Added Tax Would Mean for the Tax Code—and the Economy

BoomershineManzella — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:28:17 +0000

A well-designed Value-Added Tax could simplify the tax code for most households and finance significant reductions in corporate and individual income tax rates without adding to the budget deficit. And it could be a key piece of a revenue system that is both progressive and less intrusive in economic decisions than today’s law. That’s the conclusion of a new study by my Tax Policy Center colleagues Eric Toder, Jim Nunns, and Joe Rosenberg

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What a Value-Added Tax Would Mean for the Tax Code—and the Economy

Health Reforms Tax on Investment: Facts and Myths

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

To help pay for expanded health insurance coverage, the health reform legislation enacted in 2010 included a new 3.8 percent tax on the net investment income of high-income taxpayers. When it goes into effect in 2013, it will increase the top tax rate on capital gains, dividends, and other investment income, regardless of whether the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are allowed to expire

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Health Reforms Tax on Investment: Facts and Myths

Curbing Tax Expenditures

MisterX68048 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

This paper takes a broad look at tax expenditures in the context of revenue raising tax reform. It first reviews how tax expenditures have changed over the past 25 years and provides estimates of the distribution of tax savings resulting from tax expenditures today

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Curbing Tax Expenditures

Romney’s Tax Plan Really Does Favor the Rich

LaurenRingman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:57:55 +0000

Despite evidence to the contrary, there is a lingering view that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would primarily help middle-income households and not favor the rich.

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Romney’s Tax Plan Really Does Favor the Rich

America Owes $10 Trillion! No, $50 Trillion! Let Me Explain.

LaurenRingman — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

In a contribution to the Christian Science Monitor, Donald Marron discusses the estimates of America’s debt which vary by tens of trillions of dollars, depending on how you count. The bottom line: It’s deep but not yet fatal.

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America Owes $10 Trillion! No, $50 Trillion! Let Me Explain.

Using a VAT to Reform the Income Tax

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

In 100 Million Unnecessary Returns, Columbia University law professor Michael J.

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Using a VAT to Reform the Income Tax

What the Romney and Gingrich 1040s Tell Us About How We Tax The Rich

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:04:59 +0000

Ernest Hemingway: I am getting to know the rich. Mary Colum: I think you’ll find the only difference between the rich and other people is that the rich have more money. It turns out that when it comes to taxes, at least, Ms.

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What the Romney and Gingrich 1040s Tell Us About How We Tax The Rich