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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CBPP Analysis: "Costly Permanent Estate Tax Repeal Would Benefit Only A Few, Very Large Estates"

This June 3, 2002 analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examines the many problems with permanent repeal of the estate tax, as proposed by Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) -- and provides a comparison with the relatively lower costs of sensible reform options. More CBPP analyses of the estate tax are available on the Center's website.

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Americans Return to Fray Over Estate Tax Repeal

Deborah McGregor in the Financial Times, May 16, 2002 This Financial Times piece provides a brief overview of the efforts of both sides of the estate tax debate. It also notes that, "full repeal of the estate tax would cost ... $53.4bn in 2011, with the figure increasing in subsequent years ... [in other words], repeal would be more than double the annual cost of the hefty new farm bill Mr Bush recently signed into law."

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"Tax The Wealthy: Why America Needs the Estate Tax"

William H. Gates Sr. and Chuck Collins in The American Prospect, June 17, 2002 In this TAP piece, Bill Gates, Sr. and Chuck Collins, remind us that, "[Republican President Theodore] Roosevelt and others of his day understood that the American experiment was an attempt to balance economic liberty and free enterprise, on the one hand, with a traditional concern about democracy and the dangers of concentrated wealth and power, on the other. The estate tax, adopted in 1916, was one of the means by which Americans rejected the Old World, with its political and economic monarchies."

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"Senate Needs Reality Check Before Refunding Estate Tax"

Alan Murray in the Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2002 In this WSJ op-ed piece, Alan Murray notes that, "Marie Antoinette had nothing over the U.S. Senate. In its rush to permanently eliminate the estate tax, the nation's 'deliberative body' has apparently forgotten to deliberate on the surging social trends of our time."

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Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Paper

If you feel that more tax cuts for multi-millionaires are unfair and unwise use these links to write a letter to the editor of your local or national paper: Just click on any of the links below and follow the instructions on the page that appears next: Full repeal of the estate tax would mean much less money for the things most Americans really care about. If this worries you, click here to send a letter to the editor of the local or national paper of your choice. Do you believe that common sense and basic fairness demand permanent reform, not repeal, of the estate tax?

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PRESS RELEASE: GRAMM-KYL ESTATE TAX PLAN THREATENS TAXPAYERS WITH $850 BILLION PRICE TAG

Proposal Leaves Most Americans to Pick Up the Tab for a Few Multi-Millionaires, Americans for a Fair Estate Tax Coalition Warns FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, May 29, 2002 Contact: Gary Bass – (202) 234-8494 OMB Watch Betsy Leondar-Wright – (617) 423-2148, ext. 13 Responsible Wealth Rick Cohen – (202) 387-9177 (w) /(202) 329-4438(c) National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Proposal Leaves Most Americans to Pick Up the Tab for a Few Multi-Millionaires, Coalition Warns

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Estate Tax Repeal Advocates Up the Stakes in Estate Tax Debate

In an effort to re-emphasize their dogged commitment to tax breaks for the very wealthy, House Republicans announced last week that they would bring up the issue of permanent estate tax repeal for a vote shortly after they return from their Memorial Day recess - on June 5 or 6.

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House-Passed Superwaiver is Even Worse Than Earlier Versions

The Administration's "superwaiver" proposal that passed the House on May 16 as part of welfare reform (H.R. 4737) would provide cabinet secretaries with new, far-reaching authority to approve state applications to waive federal laws and regulations affecting a number of programs -- even more than earlier versions indicated.

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House Passes $29.6 Billion Supplemental

Before adjourning for its week-long Memorial Day recess, the House passed the President's emergency supplemental appropriations bill on May 24, in a 280-138 vote. Supplemental appropriations bills, such as this one, are common tools to bridge the gap between one fiscal year's appropriations and the next. This $29.6 billion supplemental, $2 billion more than the President's initial $27.1 billion request, will provide added funding for this fiscal year, which ends September 30.

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Citizens for Tax Justice: Estate Tax Questions

Citizen for Tax Justice provides answers to many of your questions about the history of the estate tax and reasons for maintaining the tax. CTJ Estate Tax Analysis More from CTJ

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more resources

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

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

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

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

CBPP Analysis: "Costly Permanent Estate Tax Repeal Would Benefit Only A Few, Very Large Estates"

Americans Return to Fray Over Estate Tax Repeal

"Tax The Wealthy: Why America Needs the Estate Tax"

"Senate Needs Reality Check Before Refunding Estate Tax"

Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Paper

PRESS RELEASE: GRAMM-KYL ESTATE TAX PLAN THREATENS TAXPAYERS WITH $850 BILLION PRICE TAG

Estate Tax Repeal Advocates Up the Stakes in Estate Tax Debate

House-Passed Superwaiver is Even Worse Than Earlier Versions

House Passes $29.6 Billion Supplemental

Citizens for Tax Justice: Estate Tax Questions

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us