Where tax policy meets politics — legislation, elections, and the debates in Washington that decide how (and how much) you’re taxed.
If you feel like you understand the IRS a little more this week, it’s not your imagination. Last week, President Obama signed H.R. 946 into law, which has been called the “Plain Writing Act of 2010”. It has as its purpose, “To enhance citizen access to Government information and services by establishing that Government documents…
The Washington Post ran a piece today about an “economic analysis” commissioned by the National Retail Federation (NRF) that seems to indicate that a VAT (a value added tax) would crush our economy. Oh wait. That’s the spin. The important bit is that the premise of the study was that a VAT would be added…
President Obama hit the road this weekend to promote his plan to boost the country’s infrastructure by a whopping $50 billion. Noting that updates to bridges and roads have been largely pushed aside over the last few years, the President said that now is the time to make improvements: We’ve always had the best infrastructure……
Brace yourself. From now until November, I promise you that you will hear about this next piece of news over and over again: There will likely be no increase in Social Security benefits (sometimes referred to as a “COLA” or “cost of living adjustment”) for 2011. That makes two years in a row since there…
Some folks think that football is just a game. In many parts of the country, those folks would be wrong. In the South (and indeed in other places around the country like State College, PA), football has assumed a level of importance right next to God; in fact, we often joke in the South that…
This week, Congress has been sparring over the best way to fix the economy. It looks like, one way or the other, we’re going to have some tax cuts. The specifics have yet to be worked out. Many are pushing for individual tax rate cuts while others believe that cutting corporate tax rates (something Speaker…
Last night, NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about the upcoming elections and key issues affecting voters. Not surprisingly, tax cuts were at the forefront of the discussing. Speaker Pelosi indicated that she was amenable to considering cutting corporate tax rates: We’re all for putting everything on the table, talking about…
Congress might not be getting much accomplished this quarter but you can’t say they’re not trying (well, depending on your definition of “trying”). The Senate voted yesterday to not vote (yes, you read that correctly) on a measure that was billed as an “incentive to create American jobs.” The “Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring…
Oh c’mon, like you didn’t see this coming a mile away… Congress has figured out that they’re pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don’t on this tax cut issue. So they’re going with the Scarlett O’Hara strategy. You know, thinking about it “tomorrow.” Here’s the scoop: over the weekend, the Democrats…
Although the Bush tax cuts are making the most news these days (a logical focus considering the size and scope of the cuts), Congress is considering a number of other tax-related proposals. Among the concerns is what to do about the Making Work Pay Credit. The credit was only made law for two years (2009…