Appropriations

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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OMB Releases Overly Optimistic Mid-Year Budget Review

Aug 5, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its mid-year budget review on July 13 and trumpeted the lower than expected deficit projections for 2005. The self-congratulatory rhetoric coming out of the White House since has overshadowed true problems down the road. While OMB has lowered its deficit projections for 2005 from $412 billion to $333 billion and continued to claim President Bush is well on his way to cutting the deficit in half by 2009, they continue to omit crucial aspects from their budget analysis and downplay more pressing budgetary concerns beyond 2009. First, the recently released projections to not include a fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) after 2005. Many analysts are crediting the expanding reach of the AMT as one of the reasons individual and corporate tax receipts increased so unexpectedly over the last six months. It is widely accepted that Congress will take action soon to restrict the number of Americans who pay the AMT. This will have a profound impact on tax receipts, causing them to fall and in turn increase deficits. For OMB to omit this aspect is misleading and irresponsible. Secondly, as they have done repeatedly, OMB ignores the impact of current policies after the five-year window ending in 2009. According to the White House's own budget calculations released in the president's FY06 budget, if current policies are extended, deficits will begin to climb again after 2009. If these policies continue until the retirement of the baby-boomer generation about a decade later, deficits will skyrocket, reaching double digits as a percentage of GDP. Finally, the mid-year review does not reflect changes to tax policy scheduled to be debated and enacted this fall. Congress agreed to a budget resolution earlier this year calling for $106 billion in additional unpaid-for tax cuts to be passed by year's end. This alone will wipe out the $94 billlion improvement in the deficit OMB is forecasting. Until the White House, and to a certain extent Congress, begin to be more honest and forthright about budget projections and the future effects of changes in tax policy (beyond artificial five- or ten-year windows), budget policy in the U.S. will continue down a dangerous path.

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Increased Regulation May Improve Private Pension Plans

Aug 3, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Lately there has been increased media coverage surrounding the United Airlines' recent pension default. The New York Times, in particular, has stressed in a few articles that Congress needs to take steps to regulate the pension process in order to rid it of the greed and waste that helps drive these companies' pension plans to default. United's employees, today's editorial says, collectively lost $3.4 billion in benefits in the default, and they were not "simply victims of a bad stock market and low interest rates." Instead, the unregulated pension system allowed money managers to make a number of risky investments, which eventually led to the collapse of their private pension plan, and an added burden on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The New York Times also ran this story, "How Wall Street Wrecked United's Pension," on Sunday.

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Treasury Confident Debt Limit Won't Be Reached in 2005

Aug 3, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The Treasury Department has told Democratic senator Max Baucus (D-MT) that the $8.184 trillion ceiling on government borrowing will not need to be raised this year, confirming speculation that the improvement in tax receipts seen in 2005 will allow Congress to avoid the politically charged issue for the first year since 2001. Despite this seemingly good news, Baucus called attention to the continually disturbing broader financial picture, noting that the debt limit has been raised four times and over $3 billion since 2002. "In the face of record deficits, the government needs to show more fiscal discipline," Baucus said in a news release. Taxing Internet Porn Speaking of tax receipts, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and eight other democratic senators have introduced the Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005 (S.1507), which would impose a 25 percent tax on "Internet pornography transactions." The revenues would be dedicated to a fund to support law enforcers and organizations that combat Internet and pornography-related crimes against children. News Coverage: Arkansas News Bureau Washington Post

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Frist Files for Cloture, Kyl Floats New Proposal

Jul 29, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Despite rumors earlier this week that the estate tax might see floor action, the Senate had far too many issues on its plate this week for Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to schedule a vote. He did, however, file for cloture and we can plan on probably seeing an estate tax vote after Senators return from their August recess. In other estate tax news, this week Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has floated some new specific numbers regarding reform options. He specifically mentioned a $3.5 million exemption rate and a 15 percent tax rate. While the $3.5 million exemption is much lower than what we have been hearing from him over the past month, the low tax rate still guts the tax. CBPP has estimated, based on Joint Committee on Taxation numbers, that in 2015 the cost of this proposal would be roughly 74 percent of what the total cost of repeal would be.

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Tax Breaks in the Energy Bill

Jul 28, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Although President Bush and Congressional Republicans have tried to sell the tax breaks in the energy bill as providing support for alternative energy and increased efficiency, the $14.5 billion tax package does not award nearly enough to these endeavors. Instead, 58 percent of this will go to tax breaks for traditional energy industries, including oil, natural gas, coal, electric utilities and nuclear power. This tax package, which was negotiated behind closed doors, will most likely be approved by Congress later this week. Keith Ashdown, vice president of policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, said, "They've created a complicated scheme of making sure a lot of different profitable energy industries are going to make off like bandits." He also said the tax breaks help companies "pad their bottom line, but it doesn't really create new behavior in the energy industry." Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) of the Finance Committee commented that he wanted to see more spent on alternative energy and conservation. The $14.5 billion in tax breaks will be partially offset by $3 billion in revenue that the bill will generate. The Joint Committee on Taxation has scored the bill as having a net cost of $11.5 billion over 10 years.

Washington Post: Energy Tax Breaks Total $14.5 Billion (7/28/05)

Taxpayers for Common Sense: Statement on the Energy Bill

Joint Committee on Taxation: Estimated Budget Effects of the Conference Agreement for Title XIII of H.R. 6, the "The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005"

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160 Organizations Sign On to Estate Tax Letter

Jul 27, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Americans for a Fair Estate Tax and OMB Watch released a sign-on letter to the Senate today urging opposition to both estate tax repeal and irresponsible reform. The letter showcases the wide-ranging and strong support for the estate tax from over 160 state and national organizations who signed the letter. The press release and sign-on letter can be viewed here:

Estate Tax Sign-on Letter (.pdf)

Press Release (.pdf)

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Waxman Press Release: ET Repeal Would Benefit Bush, Cheney

Jul 26, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a fact sheet today highlighting the estate tax. The fact sheet shows that estate tax repeal would save the heirs of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the Cabinet somewhere between $91 - $344 million, aggregate. These numbers are based on the estimated wealth of Bush, Cheney, and 11 members of the cabinet. Estate tax repeal, which may see a floor vote this week, would benefit less than the top 2% of the wealthiest families in America, at the expense of social programs, the charitable sector, and the nation's fiscal health.

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July 26, 2005

Jul 26, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

Estate Tax Could See Senate Floor, Despite No Concrete Compromise
Tax Panel Recommends Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal
Updated Status of FY 2006 Appropriations Bills

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Updated Status of FY 2006 Appropriations Bills

For an updated version of this appropriations chart click here. Bill House Senate Agriculture Roll Call Vote, 6/08/05, passed 408-18 Committee Markup, 6/23/05 Science, State, Justice, Commerce (House only) Roll Call Vote, 6/16/05, passed 418-7 Commerce, Justice, Science (Senate only) Committee Markup, 6/23/05 Defense Roll Call Vote, 6/20/05, passed 398-19 District of Columbia Now part of the House Transportation-Treasury bill Committee Markup, 7/21/05 Energy & Water Roll Call Vote, 5/

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Possible Vote on Estate Tax Repeal This Week

Jul 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

While Congress will spend much of this week focusing on CAFTA, there are a number of issues competing for time on the floor or in committee. This includes a procedural vote in the Senate on estate tax repeal, which may happen this week. The Wall Street Journal reported on the possibility of a vote last friday. It is still possible that the estate tax will see floor action later this week. See the Wall Street Journal website for more information.

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