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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more news

Another Strike Against Private Accounts

Apr 21, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On tuesday, Finance Committee member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that both he and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) had "pretty much told the president he's not going to get carve-outs" in regards to Social Security reform. Senate GOP leaders seem to be coming around to the fact that Bush's Social Security plan is not politically popular enough for them to seriously pursue. Hatch, in fact, is promoting a plan that would let people contribute up to $5,000 per year into a personal account, with the government providing scaled matching contributions for those who make less than $80,000 annually. Hatch's proposal also provides financial incentives that would be added to the accounts of those who opt to defer their receipt of Social Security retirement benefits. And the debate for reform continues. Of note: On April 26th, at 10 AM, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on sustainable solvency, during which they will look at proposals for reform both with and without private accounts. Robert Pozen, a former member of Bush's 2001 Social Security commission, will testify. His plan for reform has garnered a lot of attention over the past few months.

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The Rich are Getting Richer...

Apr 21, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Recent economic data released by the Labor Department show that steady increases in productivity have resulted in increased profits for businesses, but not increased compensation for the American workforce. This has left CEOs, their boards and shareholders, and their company's bottom line looking good. But the wages paid to average workers have not similiarly improved. Economists at the Economic Policy Institute calculate that during this business cycle, wages have grown less than half as quickly as compared to productivity as in the previous 7 business cycles. And Christian Weller and John Burton at the Center for American Progress note that four years into the business cycle, CEO pay and the pay of average Americans continue to pull farther apart. While economy continues to slog along, the few benefits and increases we are seeing are being concentrated in the hands of only a few.

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Watcher: April 20th, 2005

Apr 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

House Again Passes Irresponsible Estate Tax Repeal
No Compromise Seen in Budget Negotiations
Billions Lost Annually Due to Tax Evasion

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Allard Looks Into GPRA for Legislative Branch

Apr 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, is interested in looking to apply the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) to the legislative branch of the government. Currently, GPRA is a program that requires federal agencies to set goals and measure results through annual performance report. For more information on GPRA click here. Allard wants to see legislative agencies follow the GPRA, noting during a hearing yesterday, "I want to look into whether we apply all of the formulating in the GPRA or just a part of [it]." His interest in seeing GPRA applied to legislative agencies was fueled by a funding request for FY 2006 from the Library of Congress which is significantly higher (7 percent) than the funding request was for FY 2005. The GPRA ideally would be used to evaluate programs and the resources necessary to run them effectively. Allard indicated that he will need to spend time discussing this idea with other members of the Committee before it goes anywhere. To read an article in The Hill on this issue, 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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No Compromise Seen in Budget Negotiations

It has been over a month since the House and Senate passed their fiscal year 2006 budget resolutions, yet GOP negotiators have not made significant strides toward reaching compromise between the two chambers. While only the Senate has named conferees to the conference committee, informal talks between House and Senate leaders have begun to point to difficulties ahead.

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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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State Budgets Plagued By Education and Health Costs

Apr 18, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The National Conference of State Legislatures released a report last thursday highlighting the fiscal health of states and the budget pressures that exist for states regarding some key programs. The report noted that in FY 2003, 31 states faced budget gaps after the fiscal year began, however this year only 3 states found themselves in that situation. Despite this fact, Medicaid and other health costs continue to cause increasing financial pressure for states, and while state tax revenues have been able to cover most costs this year it may not work out as nicely in the years to come -- as the report says 26 states are facing shortfalls as they put together their FY 2006 budgets. More on the report can be read here.

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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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