A September 14 Bloomberg poll found that 48 percent of people favor raising taxes to reduce the deficit versus 38 percent who favor only spending cuts. Moreover, 54 percent of people favor allowing tax cuts for the rich to expire with 40 percent opposed. Additionally, 52 percent favor eliminating the wage cap for Social Security taxes with 35 percent opposed.
On September 14, the Center for Economic and Policy Research published a study examining the distributional consequences of raising the Social Security wage cap. Elimination of the cap would affect just 6 percent of workers, it finds.
Also on September 14, the House Budget Committee held a hearing on pro-growth tax reform.
And on September 14, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the impact of taxes on high-income taxpayers.
On September 13, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the role of tax reform in deficit reduction. Among those testifying were economists Alan Greenspan, John Taylor and Martin Feldstein.
On September 12, the Joint Committee on Taxation published a report outlining the principal features of the individual income tax.
On September 12, the European Central Bank published a working paper which found that higher tax progressivity is associated with lower output volatility in OECD countries.
On September 8, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on international issues related to tax reform.
On September 7, the Tax Policy Center published new data on the income levels required to begin paying federal income taxes based on various family characteristics.
On September 1, New York University law professor Daniel Shaviro posted a study on the tax reform implications of a U.S. budget catastrophe. He says that tax reform must raise net additional revenue.
I last posted items on this topic on September 12.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column for The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
