The new budget projections released by the Congressional Budget Office (2005) provide an opportunity to assess fiscal policy in the first four years of the Bush administration and to discuss prospects for the next four years and beyond. This report examines the baseline CBO projections, adjusts...
[USA Today] Before the political momentum for Social Security reform dissipates into a single-minded dispute over how much to trust Americans' retirement wealth to the stock market, or the president goes on the road again to stump for personal accounts, larger questions need attention....
Beginning with his convention acceptance speech, President Bush has been calling for an ‘‘ownership society’’- ‘‘a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.’’ Republicans and Democrats alike should welcome this call since in one form or another most have...
Proposals to replace part of Social Security with individual accounts are now a focus of attention, with the President expressing a strong desire to push forward on creating individual accounts within Social Security. This paper considers the appropriate budgetary treatment of proposals to...
Some have called for eliminating the itemized deduction for state and local income and property taxes as part of tax reform. This Tax Facts column looks at the states most affected by the current deduction and some aspects of repeal.
The Urban-Brookings microsimulation tax model is a powerful tool for federal tax policy analysis. The model calculates tax liability for a representative sample of households, both under the rules that currently exist (current law) and under alternative scenarios. Based on these calculations,...
In the heady days after his re-election, President Bush promised to replace the current tax system with something better. Politicians often delude themselves that reform can be summoned by proclamation. But, a wholesale transformation of the income tax system isn't about to happen quickly or...
To encourage saving for retirement, private pensions such as employer sponsored 401(k) plans or IRAs receive favorable tax treatment by the federal government. A major goal of such tax provisions is to increase personal saving. A measure of the value of these tax benefits is provided by the...
For the last several years, Congress has been on a spending spree unlike any in the nation’s history — a turnaround of about 7 percent of gross domestic product in going from surplus to deficit. In addition to size, what made this spree unique was that tax cuts, defense increases, large...
Effects of Recent Tax Cuts on Marginal Tax Rates
The tax fact shows how the 2001 and 2003 tax acts changed marginal tax rates for taxpayers in different income groups.
The Outlook for Fiscal Policy
The new budget projections released by the Congressional Budget Office (2005) provide an opportunity to assess fiscal policy in the first four years of the Bush administration and to discuss prospects for the next four years and beyond. This report examines the baseline CBO projections, adjusts...
Social Security Dialogue Should Be Wide-Ranging
[USA Today] Before the political momentum for Social Security reform dissipates into a single-minded dispute over how much to trust Americans' retirement wealth to the stock market, or the president goes on the road again to stump for personal accounts, larger questions need attention....
An Ownership Society or a Society For Those Who Already Own?
Beginning with his convention acceptance speech, President Bush has been calling for an ‘‘ownership society’’- ‘‘a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.’’ Republicans and Democrats alike should welcome this call since in one form or another most have...
Should the Budget Exclude the Cost of Individual Accounts?
Proposals to replace part of Social Security with individual accounts are now a focus of attention, with the President expressing a strong desire to push forward on creating individual accounts within Social Security. This paper considers the appropriate budgetary treatment of proposals to...
Deductibility of State and Local Taxes
Some have called for eliminating the itemized deduction for state and local income and property taxes as part of tax reform. This Tax Facts column looks at the states most affected by the current deduction and some aspects of repeal.
The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Microsimulation Model
The Urban-Brookings microsimulation tax model is a powerful tool for federal tax policy analysis. The model calculates tax liability for a representative sample of households, both under the rules that currently exist (current law) and under alternative scenarios. Based on these calculations,...
Sisyphus Had it Easy
In the heady days after his re-election, President Bush promised to replace the current tax system with something better. Politicians often delude themselves that reform can be summoned by proclamation. But, a wholesale transformation of the income tax system isn't about to happen quickly or...
Retirement Saving Incentives and Personal Saving
To encourage saving for retirement, private pensions such as employer sponsored 401(k) plans or IRAs receive favorable tax treatment by the federal government. A major goal of such tax provisions is to increase personal saving. A measure of the value of these tax benefits is provided by the...
Tough Choices, Opportunity, or Both?
For the last several years, Congress has been on a spending spree unlike any in the nation’s history — a turnaround of about 7 percent of gross domestic product in going from surplus to deficit. In addition to size, what made this spree unique was that tax cuts, defense increases, large...