Federal Tax Policy

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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House Votes Overwhelmingly To Support Medicaid

Apr 27, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Last night, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a motion to instruct conferees to the budget resolution conference committee to protect Medicaid funding. By a vote of 348 - 72, the House approved Rep. Stephanie Herseth's (D-SD) motion to the budget resolution conferees that Medicaid funding should not be cut through the reconciliation process. This vote puts a majority of both the House and Senate on record as opposing such cuts. Despite this, GOP leadership negotiators seem ready to sign-off on a deal on the budget resolution that would cut Medicaid funding by $10 billion over the next five years among other reductions to mandatory spending programs. Senate Budget Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-NH) is pushing Congress to pass a budget resolution before the upcoming congressional recess at the end of this week. Gregg has said if an agreement is not reached this week, it becomes very difficult for Congress to pass a resolution. It is possible floor votes on the budget resolution could begin as early as tomorrow, but it is not assured it will pass in either the House or the Senate.

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Greenspan Comments on Tax Increases and the Deficit

Apr 27, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Last week Alan Greenspan testified before the Senate Budget Committee. He said that tax increases, as well as spending decreases, must be part of any responsible deficit reduction plan. In his testimony he also stated, "The federal budget deficit is on an unsustainable path, in which large deficits result in rising interest rates and ever-growing interest payments that augment deficits in future years." For more information, click here.

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Billions Lost Annually Due to Tax Evasion

As tax day approached last Friday, there were a number of events in Washington, DC, dedicated to the issue of tax evasion and compliance. There is great concern in Congress and also among tax experts around the country about the detrimental effect the lack of tax compliance has on individual Americans and the broader U.S. economy.

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House Again Passes Irresponsible Estate Tax Repeal

For the third time in four years the House of Representatives passed a bill last week to permanently repeal the estate tax. The irresponsible and dangerous bill (H.R. 8) will cost $290 billion over the next 10 years but hidden within it are astronomically higher costs after the first decade. The House passed H.R. 8, sponsored by Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), by a vote of 272-162, with 42 Democrats and all but one Republican supporting the bill. The tally showed little change from the last House vote on estate tax repeal. In 2003, a bill passed 264-163, with 41 Democrats supporting it.

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House to Debate on Tax Breaks in Energy Bill

Apr 19, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Tomorrow the House will debate an energy bill, H.R. 1541, which includes provisions on tax breaks targeted for the energy industry. Last week the Ways and Means Committee approved $8 billion in tax breaks for the energy industry -- a number which is actually at odds with the Bush administration. The administration proposed $6.7 billion worth of tax breaks, with 72 percent of that amount going towards renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency. The House version passed by the Committee increases the tax cut by $1.3 billion and only allocates 6 percent of the money to go towards renewable and efficient sources of energy. Not only is this measure environmentally irresponsible, but it is also fiscally irresponsible. As Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth stated in this Washington Post article, "The energy bill is just another example of the House Republican leadership overreaching for corporate interests."

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Tax Panel Meeting in DC 4/18

Apr 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform will hold their next meeting on Monday, April 18th at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. The meeting will focus on state tax systems, how they interact with the federal system, and also how the tax system affects business investment in technology. These meetings are open to the public. A list of witnesses as well as more information can be found here.

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Finance Committee Hearing on Tax Gap

Apr 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On April 14th, the day before tax day, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the tax gap where they discussed compliance issues, tax code complexity, and the amount of revenue that is lost each year due to people and corporations who don't pay 100 percent of their taxes. Witnesses included GAO Comptroller David Walker, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, Cheif of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation George Yin, and National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. All Committee member and witness statements can be read here. Read this Washington Post article for more info on the tax gap and compliance issues, and look for an article in next week's edition of the Watcher for more detailed coverage.

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4 in 10 SS Recipents Affected By Taxation of Benefits

Apr 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

According to a new report by the Congressional Research Service, almost 4 in 10 Americans are affected by taxation of Social Security benefits. There are three tiers of income taxes on Social Security benefits. For married couples, with a total income of $32,000 or less, there is no tax on their benefits. For couples with income between $32,000 and $44,000, half of their benefits are subject to tax. For couples with income exceeding $44,000, 85 percent of their benefits are subject to income tax. For individuals, these levels are set at $25,000, $34,000, and greater than $34,000. The Senate-approved budget resolution includes language that would roll back a tax increase on Social Security benefits that was enacted in 1993, but the provision is not expected to survive a House-Senate conference.

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House Passes Estate Tax Repeal Bill

Apr 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Yesterday afternoon the House passed H.R. 8, a bill to permanently repeal the estate tax by a vote of 272 - 162. Forty-two Democrats supported the bill. This total was similar to the vote in 2003 to repeal the tax, which had 41 Democrats supporting it. 2005 estate tax repeal roll call vote 2003 estate tax repeal roll call vote Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) offered a substitute to this bill that would have immediately increased estate tax exemption levels to $3 million ($6 million for couples). The Pomeroy substitute would have eventually raised estate tax exemption levels to $3.5 million ($7 million for couples) after 2009 . The Pomeroy substitute would cost less than a fourth ($72 billion) of the cost of full repeal ($290 billion) over the next ten years. The vote on this amendment to reform rather than repeal the tax was closer, but failed 194 - 238, with all but 9 Democrats voting to support it. 2005 Pomeroy amendment roll call vote 2003 Pomeroy amendment roll call vote A few details of the votes:

Democrats Bean (IL), Cramer (AL), and Gordon (TN) voted against the Pomeroy amendment but for H.R. 8.
Pomeroy had the support of one Republican on his amendment - Michael Castle of DE.
Jim Leach of IA was the lone Republican to vote against H.R. 8.

House to Vote on Estate Tax Repeal Wednesday

Apr 12, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On Wednesday the House is slated to vote on H.R. 8, a bill to repeal the estate tax. The House has passed this bill in years past, and will most likely pass it again. The cost of repealing the estate tax over a ten year period would come out to be $745 billion. Click here for more information on repeal costs. President Bush is busy ranting that we don't have enough money to continue Social Security payments as they are, and at the same time Congress is set to pass an extremely austere budget resolution for FY 2006 that cuts billions of dollars from funding for social programs. Yet this push to further gut national coffers and appeal to the interests of the wealthiest in our country exists as a very real threat. The Washington Post has published two insightful columns this week discussing the issue of the estate tax and how it fits into the larger tax and budget picture. Click below to read the articles.

The Rich Get Richer

The Paris Hilton Tax Cut

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