Revenue & Spending

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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Economy and Jobs Watch: Mid-year Update

Halfway through 2004 seems a good time to review where the United States is on the economy and jobs situation.

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Appropriations Still Unknown

The appropriations process for FY 2005 doesn't lend itself well to periodic updates on which bills have been passed and who the winners and losers are. No one is even pretending that the House and Senate will debate and pass any of the 13 separate appropriations bills, or reconcile the two versions in conference -- the normal budget process. Rather, it has been clear from the start that an impossibly tight budget in an election year will dictate the process.

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Education in the U.S. Leaves Many Children Behind

A number of reports have been issued recently revealing cuts for next year in federal spending for education, including Pell Grants for college students, adult and vocational education, and Head Start, and ongoing inadequate funding for the Bush "No Child Left Behind" Act and special education.

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Tax and Spend?

In an effort to restore spending in ten critical areas and lower the deficit, Rep. David Obey (D-WI) offered a resolution (H. Res. 685) on Thursday, June 24, to invest $14.2 billion in key domestic priorities and $4.7 billion towards reducing the deficit. The total $18.9 billion would be fully offset by limiting tax breaks to those making over $1 million a year.

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House preserves $100,000 per person in tax breaks for millio

Jun 25, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The House of Representatives has declined to limit the massive tax cuts on millionaires. The cuts for millionaires average $120,000 per person a defeated proposal would have cut that to $24,000.

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Business Owner Petition to Preserve a Responsible Estate Tax

Jun 24, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Responsible Weath is organizing a petition of business owners to preserve a responsible estate tax...

BUSINESS OWNERS FOR A RESPONSIBLE ESTATE TAX
Sign-On Statement

We, as owners of America's small and mid-sized businesses, believe the repeal of the federal estate tax would be bad for our businesses, our communities, and our nation.

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Debt Ceiling

Jun 23, 2004 by Guest Blogger

It appears that Congress is attempting to sneak in a debt ceiling increase into the defense authorization bill.

Currently, we are expected to hit the legal debt limit sometime before the election. However, in an effort to avoid a potentially embarassing stand-alone vote on the increase, it looks like they will try to slip the debt increase under the cover of another bill.

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Estate Tax - Consequences of Reform Options

Jun 17, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Tax Policy Center has recently created an extremely sophisticated microsimulation model of the estate tax. A recent presentation to American's for a Fair Estate Tax highlights some of the important implications of various reform options.

A longer analysis will be produced by the Tax Policy Center in the Near Future, but the presentation gives some preliminary results.

A Model of the Estate Tax, by Len Burman, Bill Gale, and Jeff Rohaly (.ppt)

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Presentation Highlights Important Implication of Reform Options to Estate Tax

The Tax Policy Center has recently created an extremely sophisticated microsimulation model of the estate tax. A recent presentation to American's for a Fair Estate Tax highlights some of the important implications of various reform options. A longer analysis will be produced by the Tax Policy Center in the Near Future, but the presentation gives some preliminary results. A Model of the Estate Tax, by Len Burman, Bill Gale, and Jeff Rohaly (.ppt)

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