A December 9 NPR report was unable to find any evidence that a small surtax on millionaires would have any impact on business hiring.
On December 6, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee held a joint hearing on the tax treatment of financial products that are often used for tax avoidance.
On December 6, Chapman University law professor Bobby Dexter posted a paper arguing that a cut in the payroll tax is economically superior to extension of the Bush tax cuts.
In a December 5 commentary, Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center explained why the Making Work Pay Credit was economically superior to the temporary payroll tax cut that replaced it. On December 6, the center released distribution tables comparing the two policies.
Also on December 5, USC law professor Edward Kleinbard posted an article examining the role of tax reform in deficit reduction.
On December 2, the Joint Committee on Taxation released a report on the use of complex financial instruments for tax avoidance.
Also on December 2, the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation sent a letter to Congress detailing proposals for reforming the taxation of financial transactions.
On November 29, the New York Times posted historical poll data showing that grassroots Republicans are actually less opposed to tax increases today than they were in the 1980s.
On November 29, I posted an article which examined a considerable amount of poll data and concluded that higher taxes are not politically impossible.
On November 21, the Internal Revenue Service published data on nonprofit charitable organizations. In 2008, they collectively had $2.5 trillion in assets, $1.1 trillion in liabilities, and $1.4 trillion in both revenues and expenses.
I last posted items on this topic on November 30.
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 his new book: The Benefit and the Burden.
