The Broader Market

Posts tagged “taxes”

July 5th, 2011

Flat Tax, Fair Tax, and Tax Reform

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.

June 30th, 2011

A Balanced Budget Amendment: What Was Once a Bad Idea, is Still Very Much a Bad Idea

by Jordan Eizenga

In March, all 47 of the Republican Senators joined in introducing legislation that would constitutionally bind the federal government to balancing its budget annually. And this week, Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell called once again for a balanced budget amendment, a constitutional rule requiring the federal government to spend no more than it takes in as revenue each year.

A balanced budget amendment is not a new idea. Over the years there have been various proposals to amend the U.S. Constitution to impose a balanced budget requirement, but none have garnered enough votes in Congress to take the next step toward enactment: ratification by the states.

June 27th, 2011

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.

June 10th, 2011

Ten Charts that Prove the United States Is a Low-Tax Country

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.

May 16th, 2011

John Boehner Gets it Wrong on Taxes

by Jordan Eizenga

Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner likes to boil important policy issues down to simple, declarative statements – a virtue for those whose primary occupation involves communicating with young children for a living.

April 8th, 2011

Potential government shutdown: How did we get here?

by Jordan Eizenga

We are mere hours away from the government shutting down due to Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a federal budget for this fiscal year. But, a closer look at what has transpired throughout the negotiations gives you a better sense of what’s really holding things up.

Below is a chronology, which I have partially borrowed from my colleagues at the Center for American Progress:

April 8th, 2011

My colleague speaks on Bloomberg’s InsideTrack about how Congressman Paul Ryan’s proposal raises taxes on middle class families.

March 30th, 2011

An Examination of the Tax Expenditure from Tax-Free “Inside Buildup” of Life Insurance

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.

March 27th, 2011

60 Minutes discusses the “New Corporate Tax Havens.” Note the very high cost of implementing John Chambers’ plan to allow a tax holiday on repatriated earnings.

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