The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a non-profit fiscal policy institute, released a report yesterday questioning the accuracy of two recent reports from the American Family Business Foundation (AFBF) that claim repeal of the federal estate tax could create upward of 1 million jobs relatively cost free.

This morning, Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), in conjunction with Rebuild & Renew America Now (RRAN), a tax policy group, released a report outlining two tax reform proposals devised to help pay for the much anticipated overhaul of the U.S. health care system by Congress. The proposals, designed to place the least amount of tax burden on low and middle-income families, call for an expansion of the Medicare tax and a limitation on itemized deductions. According to CTJ, the two tax reforms could yield as much as $60.5 billion in the first year and $760 billion over the course of a decade. The report breaks down how the tax reforms would affect citizens of different income levels on a state-by-state basis. In addition to the report, Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, which is part of RRAN, published an opinion piece on Huffington Post arguing for responsible revenues to pay for health care reform.

In a report released today, the IRS Oversight Board recommended that Congress increase the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) FY 2010 budget by $363 million over what the Obama administration requested. The independent panel, which Congress created in 1998, cited the "IRS's archaic computer systems," a lack of adequate computer hardware and IT infrastructure, and the need for better taxpayer service programs as targets for the extra money. Unfortunately, the report comes a tad late.

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rolled back three Bush administration regulations designed to limit Medicaid services.