Federal Tax Policy

Articles & Analysis

"Do-Nothing" the Best Prescription for Deficit Reduction, but a Bad Approach for the Country

Congress was busy in the days leading up to the winter holidays. At the 11th hour, the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget finally passed, three months late, along with an extension of the payroll tax cut and a package of other assorted cuts and credits. The only real substantive legislative change coming out of the session was the death of the ethanol tax credit – because Congress failed to pass it. In the year ahead, this might be a theme: change only happens when Congress does nothing.

Fiscal Policy: The Best and Worst of 2011

Welcome to OMB Watch's year-end fiscal policy review, where we give you a retrospective of the good, the bad, and the ugly of fiscal policy in 2011. Some acts, such as increased contracting transparency, made for enjoyable viewing, while others, like the congressional budgeting process, left us crying for a new script. Read on for our take on the year's highlights in revenue, budgeting, and spending.

Super Committee "Failure" Is Anything But

(Craig Jennings 11/28/11; 2 comments)

Battling Income Inequality through Smart Surtax Policies

In spite of the media's developing critical narrative of the Occupy movement, Occupy protesters have succeeded in changing the national political conversation from an obsession with debt and deficits to a focus on the growth in income inequality and the concentration of wealth.

Latest Super Committee Proposals Steer Clear of Fiscal Responsibility

(Craig Jennings 11/16/11; 0 comments)

Budgets Are about Choices

(Gary Therkildsen 10/31/11; 0 comments)

Financial Taxes Can Raise Revenues, May Help Stabilize Markets

The congressional Super Committee, tasked with forging a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction package by Thanksgiving, is currently deliberating on which revenues – if any – to raise and to include in its plan. With Wall Street at the center of the 2008 economic collapse, the committee should look to a pair of revenue options that would fulfill the dual roles of addressing risks to the economy posed by Wall Street and raising much needed revenue: a financial speculation tax and a financial crisis responsibility fee on large financial institutions.