More Recent Tax Foundation News: Page 17
As presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unveils her economic stimulus package today, and talk of packages from Congress and the president continues to circulate, the Tax Foundation released its outlook on the best ways to shore up the economy and promote long-term growth. The proposal frowns on short-term fiscal stimulus in favor of a long-term solution: lowering the corporate tax rate, currently the second highest in the industrialized world.
"While a stimulus package might be politically popular as extraneous spending and tax provisions are added to it," said Dr. Robert Carroll, Tax Foundation Vice President for Economic Policy, "stimulus packages are often ill-timed, poorly-crafted, and do little to boost the economy. Sound monetary policy should be used in the short run to help stabilize the economy."
Click here to read Fiscal Stimulus: Missing the Big Picture?. Click here for more on corporate taxes.
The Tax Foundation announced today that Dr. Robert Carroll had joined its staff as Vice President for Economic Policy. Dr. Carroll will oversee the Tax Foundation's tax research program, with a special focus on business taxation and the need for corporate tax reform.
"As someone who has often used and always respected the Tax Foundation's work, I'm excited to now take part in that work," said Dr. Carroll. "This position is a great fit for me, as I will be able to continue doing what I've always done: making the case for sound tax policy."
Dr. Carroll most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis in the Office of Tax Policy at the Department of the Treasury, a position he began in December of 2003.
Read the news release.
The Tax Foundation staff has released its wish list for tax policy in the new year. Since 2008 is an election year in which a predicted economic slowdown could put pressure on some government budgets, reporters and politicians are likely to give the public a double dose of tax policy.
Special interests will, as always, push tax policies that favor themselves at the expense of other taxpayers. Social engineers will continue pushing tax policies that redistribute money based upon health, age, income, and other demographics. And finally, gimmicks like tax holidays and tiny, overhyped tax cuts will be featured in legislatures and political campaigns. Champions of sound tax policy like yours truly at the Tax Foundation will view all these policies with a skeptical eye.
Click here to view the 10 items on our tax policy wish list.
With a new tax year looming just 12 days away, the House of Representatives today passed the long-anticipated Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) "patch." This version of the legislation, which President Bush has indicated he will sign and which has already been approved by the Senate, will essentially prevent any new taxpayers from facing a tax liability under AMT.
"Save the stories written today about AMT, because you'll be able to recycle them next year," said Scott Hodge, Tax Foundation president. "Crises like these happen because the tax code is such an unwieldy, uncontrollable mess. Sound tax policy requires these one-year fixes, gimmicks, and patches to end. It's time for a permanent solution?one that takes the best features of AMT and the current tax code and merges them into one simpler and fairer system."
The Tax Foundation has been a frequently cited commenter on the Alternative Minimum Tax and the complexities of the tax code more broadly. This year, the Tax Foundation has released two primers on the AMT, one detailing common questions about the AMT and another offering a revenue-neutral solution. All of the Tax Foundation's work on the AMT is available online at: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/118.html.
Read the news release.
Debates over tax policy often contain misleading?or simply false?claims about who pays how much in taxes. The Tax Foundation has published a new Fiscal Fact in response to some recent rhetoric from public figures claiming the rich don't pay their fair share.
Many people simply don't realize that the wealthy already shoulder a disproportionately large share of the tax burden. For example, in 2003, the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers paid over 20 percent of the federal taxes despite earning just 14 percent of the nation's income.
Read the new Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact, "Buffett's Facts Are Wrong: Top 1% Now Paying Record Level of Taxes." Click here for more on how much tax various income groups pay.
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