All articles from Howard Gleckman

Tax VOX The great tax debate: Dueling Congressional tax proposals clash

While optimists may hang on to the small morsels of agreement between Senator Baucus and Representative Camp's tax reform proposals, in general the dueling plans are opposites, making bipartisan cooperation on the issue seem unlikely.
Tax VOX Should we delay the tax cut debate until 2013?

Over the past week, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Glenn Hubbard have all made the same suggestion: Congress should extend all of the 2001/2003 tax cuts into early next year. It seems like an awful idea.
Tax VOX Is the GOP tax reform strategy a fiscal trap?

As a matter of pure tax policy, our tax analyst analyzes the different option on the table. Ideally, Congress should build the best possible tax base and then adjust the rates to meet an agreed-upon revenue target. But in a partisan Congress, few things are 'ideal.'
Tax VOX Tax reform: The cases for going long-term, versus going prudent

As a behind-the-scenes debate begins among reformers over just how to fix the US tax code, some Republicans insist that big, broad-based reform would be easier to accomplish, while others in Congress advocate for a more step-by-step process.
Tax VOX How the debt limit delay will affect US fiscal policy

What if hitting the statutory debt limit does not happen until sometime in the first quarter of 2013? That is increasingly likely, say the folks who watch this sort of thing. And it would completely change the politics of the coming train wreck.
Tax VOX A path forward on tax reform: 4 steps

Tax reform will be difficult, but with a four-step road map, it can be done.
Tax VOX JPMorgan and the London Whale: Should we tax securities investments?

Ever since the U.S. financial crash of 2008 and the beginnings of the pending Euro-zone financial collapse, governments have been debating whether securities transactions should be subject to a new tax. Such a levy would discourage bad behavior in the financial markets, but it could have dire unintended consequences.
Tax VOX Will Obama's views on tax reform 'evolve' too?

Will Obama's public support of marriage equality spill over to financial matters?
Tax VOX With European elections, is austerity in the US doomed?

It's easy to look at European elections in France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Denmark and see a massive rejection of fiscal austerity. Is that accurate, and what does it mean for proponents of austerity in the US?
Tax VOX Can the US tax system be fair?

Two economists, a tax historian, and a philosopher debated what a 'fair' tax code means at an Urban Institute panel this week.
Tax VOX Congressional courage on expiring tax provisions

A House subcommittee is reviewing dozens of expiring tax provisions. The political pressure to extend the subsidies en bloc is immense.
Tax VOX Do Republicans contradict themselves in the Small Business Tax Cut Act?

The mechanics of the House GOP's Small Business Tax Cut Act seem to fly in the face of what many in the party have been saying lately.
Tax VOX Let the Bush tax cuts expire? It will cost American families.

Letting the Bush/Obama tax cuts (including the payroll tax cut) fall off the cliff would increase taxes on an average American household by $3,000 in 2013 alone, likely wrecking a still-fragile economy.
Tax VOX Tax Day: How easy filing makes the tax code complicated

Our current insanely complex tax rules are made possible by technology. Yes, computer software makes filing easier, but that may be the problem.
Tax VOX Experts: The 'Buffett rule' is a terrible idea

Tax policy experts disagree on many things, including what the definition of 'rich' is. But they agree that imposing a minimum tax of any kind is an admission of policy failure.
Tax VOX Will 'Obamacare' add to the deficit?

One study predicts health care reform would add billions to the deficit, while another predicts just the opposite. Which is right?
Tax VOX Should states pay bonds to knock down buildings?

Two Ohio Members of Congress have introduced a bill to allow states to issue tax-exempt bonds to demolish buildings, which is a bad solution to a serious problem of urban development.
Tax VOX Myth buster: There is no health care tax on most home sales

It is the unfounded rumor that never dies: You will have to pay a 3.8 percent federal health care tax on the sale of your house. For all but a handful of taxpayers, this is not true.
Tax VOX How will the Supreme Court's health-care ruling affect taxes?

Obama's leath-care reforms include both tax increases and tax cuts. Even if the controversial individual mandate is struck down, most of those tax changes would survive—unless, of course, the High Court kills the entire act.
Tax VOX The federal government spends a lot more money than you think

'Federal spending' figures are not reliable markers. In reality, the federal government spends about 30 percent more than it admits.