Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress, September 3, 2008

Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress, September 3, 2008 PDF Author: Gravelle
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress, September 3, 2008

Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress, September 3, 2008 PDF Author: Gravelle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress

Major Tax Issues in the 110th Congress PDF Author: David Brumbaugh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alternative minimum tax
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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As 2006 came to a close, congressional leaders in the tax-writing committees and elsewhere have provided some indications of tax issues that may be on the congressional agenda in 2007. One issue whose urgency was reduced, however, was the fate of a set of temporary tax benefits (the "extenders") that generally expired at the end of 2005: Congress approved a bill extending the provisions (the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006; P.L. 109-432) during the first week of December in its post-election session. Nevertheless, a number of significant tax issues remain that Congress may address in 2007. Prominent among upcoming issues is the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals. Under current law, individuals are generally required to pay either the structural components of the AMT are not indexed for inflation. Thus, given rising prices, the growth of incomes, and enactment of tax cuts under the regular tax, a growing proportion of taxpayers are subject to the AMT each year; and its coverage has begun to affect middle-class taxpayers (along with the upper-income individuals who were those principally subject to the tax in prior years). In past years, Congress has addressed the growth of the AMT by enacting temporary measures ("patches") that restrict its scope. Recently, however, Congressional leaders have expressed an interest in seeking a more long-term solution to the AMT's increased scope. Other tax issues that Congress may address include the question of whether to extend the broad tax cuts first enacted in 2001 -- for example, the expanded child credit, reduced individual tax rates, tax cuts for married couples, and repeal of the estate tax. The cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, and during 2006, Congress evinced considerable interest in making the tax cuts permanent. Notwithstanding the results of the mid-term elections, the 110th Congress may return to the question of extending the tax cuts in either their initial or altered form. In the current era of federal budget deficits, a dilemma with tax-cutting measures is their likely cost in terms of foregone tax revenue. Extending the 2001 tax cuts or repealing the AMT, for example, would reduce tax revenue by substantial amounts. Accordingly, there has been some discussion of a number of revenue-raising measures that would offset some or all of the cost of revenue-losing tax cuts. Items that have been mentioned prominently include increased attention to the "tax gap"--The difference between the taxes U.S. individuals and firms owe and what they actually pay -- as well as tax shelters, restricting tax benefits for U.S. firms that operate abroad, and restricting tax benefits for oil companies. In addition, some in Congress have indicated support for strengthening rules designed to restrict the federal budget deficit. Congress, of course, does not consider tax policy in an economic or budgetary vacuum. This report thus provides a broad view of tax policy's context before taking a closer look at the particular tax issues that appear likely to arise in 2007.

Congressional Record

Congressional Record PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1414

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The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

Higher Education Opportunity Act

Higher Education Opportunity Act PDF Author: United States
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education, Higher
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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War and Taxes

War and Taxes PDF Author: Steven A. Bank
Publisher: The Urban Insitute
ISBN: 9780877667407
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Introduction: This book explores the long history of American taxation during times of war. As political scientist David Mayhew recently observed, since it's founding in 1789, the United States has conducted hot wars for some 38 years, occupied the South militarily for a decade, waged the Cold War for several decades, and staged countless smaller actions against Indian tribes or foreign powers. The cost of these activities has been immense, with important and lasting consequences for the tax system, the economy, and the nation's political structure. By focusing on tax legislation, we hope to identify some of these consequences. But we are not interested in simply recounting statutory details. Rather, we hope to illuminate the politics of war taxation, with a special focus on the influence of arguments concerning "shaped sacrifice" in shaping wartime tax policy. Moreover, we aim to shed light on a less examined aspect of this history by offering a detailed account of wartime opposition to increased taxes.

Electoral College Reform

Electoral College Reform PDF Author: Thomas H. Neale
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437925693
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Competing Approaches: Direct Popular Election v. Electoral College Reform; (3) Direct Popular Election: Pro and Con; (4) Electoral College Reform: Pro and Con; (5) Electoral College Amendments Proposed in the 111th Congress; (6) Contemporary Activity in the States; (7) 2004: Colorado Amendment 36; (8) 2007-2008: The Presidential Reform Act (California Counts); (9) 2006-Present: National Popular Vote -- Direct Popular Election Through an Interstate Compact; Origins; The Plan; National Popular Vote, Inc.; Action in the State Legislatures; States That Have Approved NPV; National Popular Vote; (10) Prospects for Change -- An Analysis; (11) State Action -- A Viable Reform Alternative?; (12) Concluding Observations.

A Good Tax

A Good Tax PDF Author: Joan Youngman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558443426
Category : Local finance
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

Corporate Tax Reform

Corporate Tax Reform PDF Author: Jane Gravelle
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781978091900
Category : Corporations
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Interest in corporate tax reform that lowers the rate and broadens the base has developed in the past several years. Some discussions by economists in opinion pieces have suggested there is an urgent need to lower the corporate tax rate, but not necessarily to broaden the tax base, an approach that presents some difficulties given current budget pressures. Others see the corporate tax as a potential source of revenue. Arguments for lowering the corporate tax rate include the traditional concerns about economic distortions arising from the corporate tax and newer concerns arising from the increasingly global nature of the economy. Some claims have been made that lowering the corporate tax rate would raise revenue because of the behavioral responses, an effect that is linked to an open economy. Although the corporate tax has generally been viewed as contributing to a more progressive tax system because the burden falls on capital income and thus on higher-income individuals, claims have also been made that the burden falls not on owners of capital, but on labor income. The analysis in this report suggests that many of the concerns expressed about the corporate tax are not supported by empirical evidence. Claims that behavioral responses could cause revenues to rise if rates were cut do not hold up on either a theoretical or an empirical basis. Studies that purport to show a revenue-maximizing corporate tax rate of 30% (a rate lower than the current statutory tax rate) contain econometric errors that lead to biased and inconsistent results; when those problems are corrected the results disappear. Cross-country studies to provide direct evidence showing that the burden of the corporate tax actually falls on labor yield unreasonable results and prove to suffer from econometric flaws that also lead to a disappearance of the results when corrected, in those cases where data were obtained and the results replicated. Many studies that have been cited are not relevant to the United States because they reflect wage bargaining approaches and unions have virtually disappeared from the private sector in the United States. Overall, the evidence suggests that the tax is largely borne by capital. Similarly, claims that high U.S. tax rates will create problems for the United States in a global economy suffer from a misrepresentation of the U.S. tax rate compared with other countries and are less important when capital is imperfectly mobile, as it appears to be. Although these new arguments appear to rely on questionable methods, the traditional concerns about the corporate tax appear valid. While an argument may be made that the tax is still needed as a backstop to individual tax collections, it does result in some economic distortions. These economic distortions, however, have declined substantially over time as corporate rates and shares of output have fallen. Moreover, it is difficult to lower the corporate tax without creating a way of sheltering individual income given the low tax rates on dividends and capital gains. A number of revenue-neutral changes are available that could reduce these distortions, allow for a lower corporate statutory tax rate, and lead to a more efficient corporate tax system. These changes include base broadening, reducing the benefits of debt finance through inflation indexing, taxing large pass-through firms as corporations, and reducing the tax at the firm level offset by an increase at the individual level. Nevertheless, the scope for reducing the tax rate in a revenue-neutral way may be limited.

Survey of Activities of the House Committee on Rules 110th Congress, January 2, 2009, 110-2 House Report 110-931

Survey of Activities of the House Committee on Rules 110th Congress, January 2, 2009, 110-2 House Report 110-931 PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Michelle's Law

Michelle's Law PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dependents
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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