In his FY2005 budget, released Monday, President Bush proposes a set of new tax-preferred saving accounts (which were first presented in last year's budget). Under the Administration's proposal, two new types of individual accountscalled Lifetime Saving Accounts (LSAs) and Retirement Saving...
The Congressional Budget Office's midyear update of the economic and budget outlook, released in late August, provides an opportunity to glean new perspectives on the fiscal status of the federal government. In a prior article, we adjusted the baseline projections to provide more appropriate...
The CBO's new budget update provides the opportunity to reassess fiscal prospects and reconsider policy options. This paper examines the baseline CBO projections and adjusts the official data in ways that we believe more accurately reflect the current trajectory of tax and spending policies and...
A variety of recent studies have found that the United States faces a substantial fiscal gap -- that is, a sizable imbalance between projected federal outlays and receipts. A recent study by Boskin (2003) suggests these findings are overstated because they largely or entirely omit projected...
We find that estate tax repeal would reduce charitable bequests by between 22 and 37 percent, or between $3.6 billion and $6 billion per year. Previous studies are consistent with this finding, and also imply that repeal would reduce giving during life by a similar magnitude in dollar terms. The...
Events leading up to the enactment of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) highlighted the role of tax provisions that expire at a given date, which are commonly known as "sunsets." This article examines trends in the magnitude and nature of sunsets, and discusses...
This paper evaluates the tax proposals put forth by the Bush Administration, the House of Representatives, and the Senate Finance Committee, with respect to their impact on revenues, short-term stimulus, long-term growth and distribution of tax burdens and after-tax income. Particular attention...
This paper examines long-term fiscal discipline and economic performance, with two main results. First, declines in budget surpluses (increases in deficits) reduce national saving and therefore reduce future national income, regardless of their effect on interest rates. Second, increases in...
The Bush Administration's budget includes a chapter entitled "The Real Fiscal Danger," which highlights the projected imbalances in Social Security and Medicare. Ironically, the budget does not include any specific steps to eliminate or even reduce those imbalances. It does, however, propose...
Researchers have shown how the tax system can reinforce disparities between households of different races or ethnicities, even though the Internal Revenue Code does not...
There is substantial evidence that income inequality in America rose throughout the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries. Influential research by Thomas Piketty,...
Most years, the Tax Policy Center celebrates Valentine Day with a whimsical analysis of the costs and benefits—tax-wise—of marriage. What’s new this year is that...
Congress should eliminate the debt ceiling this year. It serves no useful purpose. It doesn’t contribute to fiscal discipline, and breaching it entails large, potentially,...
Recent analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) shows the impact of several tax pieces included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The...
Debates about corporate income tax cuts follow a familiar script. Republicans claim that rank-and-file workers benefit . Democrats argue that affluent shareholders reap the gains...
Over the past three decades, the United States has gone from taxing roughly half of closely held business (that is, firms other than corporations) and...
The murder of George Floyd, in May 2020, sparked a national reckoning and renewed attention to issues of racial equity and justice. This long-overdue awakening...
As of this morning, yields on 10-year Treasury bonds stood at 1.33 percent. The yield on TIPS bonds–which are adjusted for inflation–was negative. These astonishingly...
Last week, Congress and President Trump enacted the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the largest aid package in American history...
The Congressional Budget Office just projected a series of $1 trillion budget deficits—as far as the eye can see. Narrowing that deficit will require not...