New Posts

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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The Estate Tax and Charitable Giving

OMB Watch has noted that repeal of the estate tax would have three adverse impacts: it would increase concentrations of wealth and power; it would sharply curtail charitable giving; and it would reduce federal revenues likely causing cuts in programs serving low-income and vulnerable families. In this fact sheet we begin to explore the connection between charitable giving and the estate tax.

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Poverty and Welfare Information

Analyses and statements by other organizations on welfare reform in general, the history of welfare reform, the 1996 welfare reform law, welfare reform in the states, as well as specific aspects including children, child care, food stamps, and job training

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Budget News -- Jan. 1, 2000 -- Dec. 31, 2000

The following are federal budget policy analyses and updates from OMB Watch issued during 2000.

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Tax Cuts VS. Everything Else

We can either choose to pay now, or we will have to pay later -- preventing social ills is much cheaper in the long run. From a purely economic standpoint, many economists agree that a return to deficits is not a problem -- running a surplus would actually be more of problem -- and that this economic climate prescribes more government spending, not less.

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Economic Stimulus Proposals Resource Page

The following are analyses, updates and action alerts from OMB Watch and other organizations on the Fall 2001 - Spring 2002 attempts to create an "economic stimulus package."

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Facts on Corporate Welfare

Average taxpayers pick up an expensive tab for corporate welfare expenditures. Government spending for corporate welfare programs far exceeds government spending for social programs.
  1. Fact: Spending for corporate welfare programs outweighs spending for low-income programs by more than three to one: $167 billion to $51.7 billion (source: Aid for Dependent Corporations, from the Corporate Welfare Project and How Much Do We Spend on Welfare?, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, FY 95 figures)
  2. Fact: Total federal spending on a safety net for the

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Estate Tax and Government Revenue

Because of the debate over repeal of the estate tax, OMB Watch has produced a series of articles providing background on the tax. This fact sheet focuses on the impact the estate tax has on government revenue. As with other discussions of the estate tax, we include the gift tax and generation-skipping transfer taxes in the discussion when we use the term estate tax, since it is a unified tax.

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OMB Watch Press Release: Estate Tax Preserved

Estate Tax Preserved: A Victory for Amercia's Charities For Immediate Release May 26, 2001 Contact: Ellen Taylor 202/234-8494

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Impact on the States

Most state treasuries benefit directly from the estate tax by "picking up" a portion of the federal estate taxes paid by estates in their states. The following analyses detail the impact full repeal of the estate tax will have on each state.
  • The National Priorities Project's analysis of the impact repeal of the estate tax would have on each state. These 2-page reports also examine the impact of the estate tax on family farms and businesses, as well as the income inequality issues the estate tax attempts to adjust.

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President Bush's Economic Stimulus Proposal

The President's proposal for an economic stimulus package is aimed more at additional tax cuts than stimulating the economy.

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Resources & Research

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

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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more resources