Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle offers the expertise of American University Professor Janet Spragens, executive director of the American Tax Policy Institute. He shows that she made a strong case that more attention ought to be paid to the needs of low-income taxpayers. Indirectly, she points to...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle raises questions about a proposed long-term care credit, in terms of traditional tax policy issues: administration, costs, equity, budget accounting, and tax simplicity.
This column by Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle is the first in a series examining key questions about the president's proposal to deal with long-term care through the tax code. The focus will be less on the specific details of that particular proposal than with the type of analysis required to...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines tax reform and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). He suggests a solution: Simply eliminate or cut the AMT and then replace it with more direct taxes on the income classes that benefit from the AMT tax cut. He concludes, however, that neither political party...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle describes the many related issues that Congress will have to address if it decides to develop legislation to try to encourage the expansion of private pension assets along the lines of a government match.
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the 1999 Clinton Administration proposal to create "USA" savings accounts. He concludes that the proposal for a match is one way to try to encourage greater saving, especially among the middle class, but that to be effective, a much more delicate crafting...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle considers the math behind President Clinton's proposal to spend 62 percent of the surplus on Social Security, with another share to be allocated to Medicare, and that the remaining share be spent on other items, including a subsidy for new private pension accounts...
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the factors that have made the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) one of the more complicating influences on the tax code. He concludes that the individual AMT is in need of a good fix or outright elimination, and that simply indexing it is not enough.
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle comments on what makes Social security and Medicare reform suffer from the same problem that for so long made budget reform difficult. He argues that the reform efforts measure gains and losses, winners and losers, from a base of a system that is imbalanced and...
Tax Controversy Among the Low-Income Population
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle offers the expertise of American University Professor Janet Spragens, executive director of the American Tax Policy Institute. He shows that she made a strong case that more attention ought to be paid to the needs of low-income taxpayers. Indirectly, she points to...
Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 3 of 3)
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle raises questions about a proposed long-term care credit, in terms of traditional tax policy issues: administration, costs, equity, budget accounting, and tax simplicity.
Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 2 of 3)
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle raises questions about a proposed long-term care credit, in terms of budget, health, and retirement policy.
Long-Term Care Needs and the Government Response (Part 1 of 3)
This column by Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle is the first in a series examining key questions about the president's proposal to deal with long-term care through the tax code. The focus will be less on the specific details of that particular proposal than with the type of analysis required to...
The Crazy Politics of the Alternative Minimum Tax
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines tax reform and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). He suggests a solution: Simply eliminate or cut the AMT and then replace it with more direct taxes on the income classes that benefit from the AMT tax cut. He concludes, however, that neither political party...
The Private Pension Issues Raised By 'USA' Accounts
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle describes the many related issues that Congress will have to address if it decides to develop legislation to try to encourage the expansion of private pension assets along the lines of a government match.
A Government Match for Private Pension Saving?
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the 1999 Clinton Administration proposal to create "USA" savings accounts. He concludes that the proposal for a match is one way to try to encourage greater saving, especially among the middle class, but that to be effective, a much more delicate crafting...
"Spending" the Surplus: Counting the Ways
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle considers the math behind President Clinton's proposal to spend 62 percent of the surplus on Social Security, with another share to be allocated to Medicare, and that the remaining share be spent on other items, including a subsidy for new private pension accounts...
The Individual AMT: More Than a Small Fix Is Needed
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle examines the factors that have made the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) one of the more complicating influences on the tax code. He concludes that the individual AMT is in need of a good fix or outright elimination, and that simply indexing it is not enough.
Social Security Reform: The Budget Debate All Over Again
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle comments on what makes Social security and Medicare reform suffer from the same problem that for so long made budget reform difficult. He argues that the reform efforts measure gains and losses, winners and losers, from a base of a system that is imbalanced and...