Since some Congressional lawmakers seem up in arms about including the elimination of oil and gas subsidies in the debt limit negotiations, I thought I’d post a quick clip by my colleague (a tax expert) Seth Hanlon on that very topic.
Enjoy.
Posts tagged “tax expenditures”
I speak with Vicki Childs about different tax reform options. The other guests included proponents of the flat tax and the fair tax, both of which (fortunately) are not likely to become law.
Enjoy and don’t mind the beginning story.
Tom Doe of Municipal Market Advisors (and a friend of this blogger) talks to Fox Business News about the possibility that municipal bonds could lose their tax exempt status. Many deficit hawks have been calling for the repeal of the tax exemption on munis, as it results in foregone tax revenue to the US Treasury. In this segment, Doe rightly asserts that people should be concerned about munis losing their tax exempt status.
by Michael Linden, Seth Hanlon and Jordan Eizenga
The United States is a low-tax country. That’s true for individuals and for corporations, and it’s true whether you compare us to other countries or the America of the past. No matter how you slice it the conclusion is the same. Conservatives like to claim that our budget deficits are purely a “spending problem.” Said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “We don’t have this problem because we tax too little. We have it because we spent too much.” It’s a popular talking point, but it simply isn’t true. Deficits do not stem from spending levels alone. They are the product of a mismatch between spending and revenue. And when revenue is as low as ours is, you end up with big deficits. Here are 10 charts demonstrating the simple, clear truth that federal taxes in the United States are very low.
by Jordan Eizenga and Seth Hanlon
In the months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, fear and uncertainty in the global credit markets spread to the municipal bond market. Investors fled muni bonds and prices plunged.
Advisers recommended that state and local governments delay issuing new debt because of high yields and weak demand. But pressing financial and infrastructure needs meant that state and local governments often could not just wait out the crisis. The turmoil in the municipal bond market threatened to worsen the nation’s plunge into recession.
by Seth Hanlon and Jordan Eizenga
The tax code favors life insurance by excluding death benefits from taxation and by permitting life insurance premiums to be invested on a tax-free basis. The latter tax benefit is called tax-free inside buildup. It is of particular value for the holders of permanent life insurance policies such as “whole life” or “universal life” policies.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Laura Tyson and others talk tax expenditures, which cost the US federal government over a trillion dollars in foregone tax revenue annually.
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