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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Estate Tax Report: Spending Millions to Save Billions

Apr 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

United for a Fair Economy and Public Citizen released a report today called "Spending Millions to Save Billions: The Campaign of the Super Wealthy to Kill the Estate Tax." The report details the multimillion-dollar lobbying effort -- led by a handful of extremely wealthy families -- to repeal the estate tax. The groups issued a press release as well, saying:

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National Council of La Raza Report Releases Estate Tax Report

Apr 21, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The National Council of La Raza has issued a white paper concluding "that repeal of the estate tax would exacerbate the wealth gap between Latinos and other Americans and reduce the amount of revenue available for the community’s key policy priorities." Report: Undercutting the American Dream: Estate Tax Repeal Would Harm Latinos Executive Summary

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Estate Tax Repeal Would Further Concentrate Wealth

Apr 21, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Check out this good opinion article on the estate tax. It mentions that not only does the estate tax affect a miniscule percentage of Americans, but it is also an important tool for redistributing wealth and leveling the playing field in our society. In his column Jim Kiser refers to a point made by Bill Gates, Sr., an extremely wealthy man and an outspoken proponent of the estate tax:

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Post Editorial: Reality and Taxes

Apr 20, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Washington Post editorial board responds to a member of the Virginia House of Delegate's comments that Virginia is a highly-taxed state and thus should not raise taxes in order to meet the state's critical priorities. Washington Post: Reality and Taxes

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Surprise, Surprise: Bush Tax Cuts Mainly Benefit Wealthy

Apr 19, 2006 by Guest Blogger

As we've said time and again, one of the main reasons why the Bush tax cuts are so egregious -- besides the fact that they are draining the Treasury of revenues and causing important federal programs to get squeezed -- is the that the beneficiaries of these tax cuts are overwhelmingly the very richest people in our society. As this well-written article puts it, "things will get even worse if the Bush administration gets its way.

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Gearing Up for a May Estate Tax Vote

As the May vote in the Senate to repeal the estate tax approaches, nonprofit advocacy groups around the country are stepping up their campaign to save the nation's most progressive tax and a vital source of revenue. OMB Watch urges individuals to email Senators today and let lawmakers know America favors preserving the estate tax and opposes repeal or back-door "reform" that would amount to repeal.

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House Fails to Agree on Budget; Boehner Retreats

After proposing a sparse budget on March 29 and following a intense and divisive few weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, House GOP leaders ultimately pulled the plug on the $2.8 trillion FY 2007 budget resolution late on April 6. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who admittedly spent the week "popping Advil" in preparation for difficult negotiations with his colleagues, failed time and again to emerge from these talks with enough votes to pass the resolution--a significant setback in what was his first real test as the new Majority Leader.

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Grassley to Everson: Consider Free Filing Through IRS

Apr 18, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson April 13 regarding online tax filing, and specifically, his recommendations for reforming it. While the IRS currently provides a free online filing service to qualified individuals (those with adjusted gross incomes of $50,000 or less) throught the "Free File Alliance," Grassley is "looking into allowing" the IRS to provide a free, electronic direct filing service to all taxpayers.

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Washington Post On Congress' Tax Gimmickry

Apr 17, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Following up on a OMB Watch Budget Blog posting late last month, the Washington Post has an excellent editorial in this morning's paper criticizing Congress for "resorting to a [tax] gimmick that is even more egregious than their usual tactics."

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Who Is Doing Your Taxes?

Apr 17, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Interesting article yesterday from the Associated Press about who prepares the tax forms for the members of Congress who are responsible for writing the tax code. Turns out three out of the top four lawmakers in Congress who have jurisdiction over the U.S. tax code use private preparers to file their tax returns. The lawmaker who still prepares his own taxes is Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), who chairs the Ways and Means Committee. About sixty percent of Americans use a private preparation company or service when it comes to filing their own returns.

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