Taxes

Are Democrats Too Afraid of Raising Taxes?

By Michael Rainey

One of the crucial unanswered questions hanging over the democratic debate on Medicare for All is how its proponents plan to pay for it. While Bernie Sanders has made it clear that he would raise...
The $30 Trillion Question Haunting Elizabeth Warren’s Campaign

By Yuval Rosenberg

There’s a $30 trillion question looming over Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign: How would she fund the cost of the Medicare-for-All plan she proposes? The issue was the subject of repeated...
Moderate Dems (Cautiously) Critique Warren Wealth Tax

By Yuval Rosenberg

Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate saw moderate Democrats battle with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders over their proposals for a wealth tax. Both Warren and Sanders have...
A Look at How Far Corporate Tax Rates Have Fallen

By Michael Rainey

A chart from Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices shows just how far corporate tax rates have fallen since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed. According to Silverblatt's calculations,...
Bernie Sanders Wants to Undo Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut – and Much More

By Michael Rainey

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to raise the top corporate income tax to 35%, the same level it was before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered it to 21 percent. In a sweeping...

Trump’s Tax Cuts Cost Homeowners $1 Trillion: Analysis

By Michael Rainey

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has cost millions of homeowners a collective $1 trillion in lost property values, says Allan Sloan, a former senior editor at Fortune and now an editor at large at...
Are We Asking the Wrong Question About Trump's Tax Cuts?

By Michael Rainey

Most economists say it will take years to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but Greg Leiserson, director of tax policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, isn’...
2019 Deficit Was Just Under $1 Trillion, Highest in 7 Years: CBO

By Yuval Rosenberg

The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 grew to $984 billion, or 4.7% of GDP, the highest since 2012, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday. The total for 2019 is 26% higher...
The Incredible Shrinking Tax Rate for the Rich

By Michael Rainey

The highest-income households in the U.S. have seen an enormous reduction in their overall tax burdens since 1950, a development highlighted Sunday by The New York Times’ columnist David Leonhardt,...
Would a Warren/Sanders Wealth Tax Kill the Economy?

By Michael Rainey

As Democratic presidential candidates debate a variety of new social programs, from universal health care to free higher education, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are calling for a wealth tax to...

IRS Budget Cuts Led to Billions in Lost Corporate Tax Revenue: Study

By Yuval Rosenberg

IRS budget cuts are costing the U.S. government substantially more in tax collections than they save, according to a new study highlighted by USA Today . Researchers at the Indiana University Kelley...
Why Americans Won't Vote for Carbon Taxes

By Michael Rainey

Earlier this year, dozens of well-known economists backed a proposal to use a carbon tax as part of the federal policy response to global warming. Carbon taxes are generally popular with policy wonks...
The Market Flashes a Recession Signal: Does the Economy Need New Stimulus?

By Michael Rainey

Investors scrambled for cover Wednesday as the bond market flashed a signal that a recession may be on the way, sending stocks sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 800 points...
US Taxes Lower Than in Most Developed Countries

By Michael Rainey

The Tax Policy Center on Monday released a chart that reminds us once again that taxes are lower in the U.S. than in most developed nations – and that was true even before the Republican tax cuts...
Chart of the Day: Weak Effects of the Corporate Tax Cut

By Michael Rainey

Business investment has risen since the GOP tax cuts were signed into law by President Trump in 2017, but it’s not clear how much a contribution the tax cuts made to the relatively modest investment...