PUBLICATIONS BY Curtis S. Dubay
Commentary
Research
2009 Commentary
October 29, 2009
Baucus Health Insurance Excise Tax Misses the Mark
By Curtis Dubay
The Senate Finance Committee proposes to substantially raise taxes on middle- and low-income taxpayers through a misguided excise tax on insurance plans in order to pay for a portion of its healthcare bill. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that this tax hike would cost taxpayers more than $200 billion over 10 years, about a quarter of the bill's $829 billion cost.
August 10, 2009
Headed for a 'VAT' of higher taxes
By Curtis S. Dubay
No one can say President Obama lacks ambition. The speed with which he has pursued his agenda to radically change the relationship between Americans and their government -- spending colossal amounts of taxpayer money on health care, energy and the economy in the process -- has surprised even the most experienced Washington hands.
July 23, 2009
Surtax proposal sets off a fire bell
By Curtis S. Dubay
President Obama claims health care reform will lower costs. If that's true, reformers shouldn't be calling for painful tax increases.
2009 Research
November 20, 2009
Taxes Proposed to Pay for Health Care Reform
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2706)
The U.S. Senate's proposal for a government-run hostile takeover of the entire U.S. health care system includes a barrage of higher taxes.
November 19, 2009
Estate Tax a Killer for Family-Owned Businesses and Their Workers
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2703)
Congress should repeal the estate tax once and for all to remove an unfair burden from the backs of American family-owned businesses and their workers.
October 19, 2009
Baucus Health Insurance Excise Tax Misses the Mark
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2654)
The Baucus plan's excise tax on "Cadillac" health insurance plans would fall mostly on low- and middle-income workers.
September 30, 2009
Sin Taxes on Soda, Alcohol, and Cigarettes: Congress's Latest Vice
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2635)
Congress should drop its efforts to levy sin taxes and targeted taxes. They lead only to higher deficits and higher taxes.
August 27, 2009
Budget Update Shows No Need for Tax Hikes
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2597)
The OMB and CBO budget updates show that spending cuts—not tax increases—are necessary to bring deficits under control.
August 03, 2009
Seven Myths About Taxing the Rich
By Curtis S. Dubay
(Backgrounder #2306)
Raising taxes on the rich would increase the progressivity of the already highly progressive tax code. It would also damage economic growth by stifling job creation, further slowing the growth of already stagnant wages. Tax hikes on the rich hit small businesses hard. Raising these rates will hurt the businesses that are the primary engine for job growth in the U.S.
July 15, 2009
Income Tax Surtax Should Not Fund Government Health Care Expansion
By Brian M. Riedl and Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2544)
Congress is reportedly considering raising taxes by at least $540 billion over 10 years to fund President Obama's health care initiative through a "surtax" on top of the highest individual tax rates.
July 09, 2009
Value-Added Tax: No Solution for Health Care or Fiscal Woes
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2532)
Congress should resist calls for a VAT on top of all the taxes Americans already pay.
June 16, 2009
The Death Tax: Another Obama Tax Hike Target
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2489)
President Obama should stop hiking taxes and restrain spending immediately. The economy is in a precarious position and cannot afford the damage tax hikes will inflict.
June 01, 2009
Income Tax Will Become More Progressive Under Obama Tax Plan
By Curtis S. Dubay
(Backgrounder #2280)
Tax progressivity discourages hard work, savings, investing, and entrepreneurship. Discouraging these catalysts of economic growth is always counterproductive, but doing so during a severe recession is particularly irresponsible. To make the tax code less progressive and encourage economic growth, Congress should scrap plans to increase tax rates on top earners and instead reduce the number of brackets and lower the rates on those that remain.
May 18, 2009
2010 Budget Resolution Raises Taxes and Hurts Economic Recovery
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2452)
Congress recently passed the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution, which includes several provisions that will significantly raise taxes and hurt economic recovery.
May 11, 2009
Obama's Dividend and Capital Gains Tax Hike Would Hurt Seniors
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2433)
President Obama's "Budget Blueprint" proposes to raise the tax rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent. This tax hike would hit senior citizens particularly hard.
May 05, 2009
Obama International Tax Plan Would Weaken Global Competitiveness
By J. D. Foster, Ph.D., and Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2426)
President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner unveiled a tax reform plan yesterday that, if enacted, would seriously damage the international competitiveness of U.S. businesses.
May 04, 2009
The Rich Pay More Taxes: Top 20 Percent Pay Record Share of Income Taxes
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2420)
Since the passage of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, critics have claimed incessantly that they disproportionately benefited the rich while burdening the poor. Now that the data is in, these claims have been shown to be unquestionably false.
April 29, 2009
The Economic Impact of the Proposed Capital Gains Tax Increase
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2418)
President Obama’s recently released “Budget Blueprint” proposes raising the tax rate on capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent. In real terms (that is, adjusted for inflation), the tax rate on capital gains already far exceeds 20 percent.
March 23, 2009
Obama's Stimulus Has "Spread the Wealth Around": Are Tax Hikes Next?
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2354)
President Obama famously said during the campaign that he thinks the economy works best when "we spread the wealth around." He is wasting no time pursuing this redistributionist agenda, and he is using the tax code to do it.
February 24, 2009
The Elements of a Responsible Budget Proposal
By Brian M. Riedl, Mackenzie M. Eaglen, Curtis S. Dubay, J. D. Foster, Ph.D., William W. Beach, and Rea S. Hederman, Jr.
(WebMemo #2309)
The President must ensure that his budget proposal protects America’s security abroad and economic security at home.
February 05, 2009
New Stimulus Tax Deductions Just Another Bailout for Detroit Automakers
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2275)
The Senate recently tacked on two new income tax deductions as part of the stimulus bill in yet another attempt to help the ailing auto industry. This bad tax policy amounts to nothing more than a subsidy for American car buyers and a backdoor bailout for automakers and state and local governments.
January 28, 2009
Economic Stimulus Pushed by Flawed Jobs Analysis
By Curtis Dubay, Karen Campbell, Ph.D., and Paul Winfree
(WebMemo #2252)
The Obama Administration and Members of Congress are relying on a flawed report as evidence of the effectiveness of the stimulus plan. The report should not be trusted. It is based on faulty assumptions that even the authors admit create significant margins of error.
January 26, 2009
"Making Work Pay" Credit Will Not Stimulate the Economy
By Curtis S. Dubay
(WebMemo #2240)
President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit is a major piece of the fiscal stimulus plan currently being debated in Congress. The new credit is being touted as a tax cut, but in reality it is just more spending through the tax code.
2008 Research
December 03, 2008
Cutting Taxes to Promote Growth and Restore Fairness
By Alison Acosta Fraser and Curtis S. Dubay
(Special Report #29)
President-elect Obama, a centerpiece of your campaign was your pledge to cut taxes for 95 percent of American workers. Middle-class voters, especially, connected strongly with this pledge and expect their taxes to decline. Tax cuts are one key way to strengthen the economy for both the short term and long term, creating jobs and increasing wages. Targeting families, workers, and small businesses is a good starting point, but your promised tax cuts will deliver only minimal benefit to the groups you target.
November 20, 2009
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