Taxes

The Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives must decide whether to write a budget extending, expiring, or repealing the Bush tax cuts. These tax cuts have provided a convenient scapegoat for the nation's budget and economic challenges. Despite a 42 percent spending increase in 2001, critics charge… Read more

Abstract: The death tax: What does it kill? Who does it affect? It affects hundreds of thousands of small-business owners across the country—as well as their employees and community residents who benefit from the senior and day care centers, playgrounds, charities, and learning centers… Read more

Abstract: 2010 is the only year since 1916 in which heirs to an estate will not have to pay the dreaded death tax. Victory for small businesses? Not yet—due to a legal quirk, the death tax is scheduled… Read more

The story of how the Laffer Curve got its name begins with a 1978 article by Jude Wanniski in The Public Interest entitled, "Taxes, Revenues, and the 'Laffer Curve.'"1 As recounted by… Read more

In 2001 and 2003, President George W. Bush proposed and Congress passed a series of tax cuts to reinvigorate the economy and reduce the government's burden on workers' paychecks. Because of opposition to these measures from some in Congress, they were implemented as temporary tax cuts, all of which will… Read more

Class warfare has always been a mainstay of liberal politics. Politicians frequently depict the United States as a nation starkly divided between the rich and poor. For example, vice presidential candidate John Edwards decries "two Americas...one privileged, the other burdened...one America that does the work, another that reaps the reward. One America… Read more

President Obama and congressional Democrats are blaming their trillion-dollar budget deficits on the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. Letting these tax cuts expire is their answer. Yet the data flatly contradict this "tax cuts caused the deficits" narrative. Consider the three most persistent myths: •… Read more

Abstract: The annual federal budget deficit is projected to reach 8.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020—more than three times the historical average of 2.3 percent. This dramatic increase in the federal deficit will be exclusively the result of increasing spending, not… Read more

When pressed about the harmful effects on the economy, proponents of highertaxes often fall back on what can be called the "Clinton defense." President Bill Clinton pushed a major tax increase through Congress in 1993, and, so the story goes, the economy boomed. How, then, can tax increases be so bad for the economy?… Read more

There is widespread consensus that the current tax system is a complicated failure that hinders the nation's growth while allowing the politically well-connected to manipulate the system to get special breaks that are not available to average workers and businesses. This is stimulating a great deal of interest in… Read more

Abstract: The death tax: What does it kill? Who does it affect? It affects hundreds of thousands of small-business owners across the country—as well as their employees and community residents who benefit from the senior and day care centers, playgrounds, charities, and learning centers… Read more

Abstract: 2010 is the only year since 1916 in which heirs to an estate will not have to pay the dreaded death tax. Victory for small businesses? Not yet—due to a legal quirk, the death tax is scheduled… Read more

In addition to the devastating economic effects of cap and trade, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733)—introduced by Senators John Kerry (D–MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I–CT)—would likely lead to the same conditions that caused the housing bubble of a few years ago. It… Read more

Abstract: The annual federal budget deficit is projected to reach 8.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020—more than three times the historical average of 2.3 percent. This dramatic increase in the federal deficit will be exclusively the result of increasing spending, not… Read more

The President has proposed raising the tax on dividend income from 15 to 20 percent while his allies in Congress have created a procedural path whereby the income tax rate on dividends could again reach 39.6 percent. At the same time, it has been suggested by some that the deduction… Read more

Abstract: Congress cannot kick its spending habit. This time it is using the extension of long-overdue tax-reducing provisions to increase spending $174 billion and add $134 billion to the deficit. Even worse, Congress has crammed a job-destroying tax hike and other detrimental policies into… Read more

Abstract: The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 would simplify the convoluted tax code and lower tax brackets for most Americans. Sponsored in the Senate by Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, this tax reform proposal would free productive resources to be… Read more

BP has correctly received most of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As the contractor of the rig, there is little question that BP is responsible for the accident. However, reports of federal regulatory exemptions and passed safety inspections should raise questions about the federal government’s responsibility and… Read more

The latest employment report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that the labor market may have turned a corner. While the unemployment rate climbed to 9.9 percent, the increase is due to more people re-entering the labor force in an effort to find work. Employers created 231,000 private… Read more

Initial estimates from the Department of Labor (DOL) suggest that the unemployment rate increased in April to 9.9 percent, while the U.S. economy created on net 290,000 jobs.[1] While the figures are artificially elevated by the temporary surge of federal government hiring due to the decennial census, they… Read more