Wait? You mean we just can’t keep cutting taxes and increasing spending? That’s the word from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Hoyer indicated on yesterday that tax cuts for the middle class which are set to expire at the end of the year might only be extended for one year. Making them permanent would cost…
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) has taken some lumps for his hard-nosed approach to spending cuts in an effort to salvage the state’s budget. In his brief stint, Gov. Christie has stood up to teacher’s unions, wealthy municipalities, and transit – without too much fuss to date. Property tax rebates are disappearing and other…
I’ve received a bunch of comments and emails from taxpayers telling me what they think of Obama’s budget. I’ll be sharing some of them throughout the next few weeks, so keep them coming. If you’d like to blog on a specific topic, make sure that you check out my call for policy posts. Today, guest…
Last night, President Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address. As it expected, it largely focused on the economy – especially taxes and job creation. If you didn’t manage to stay up for the whole thing – or you’re a closet Phineas and Ferb fan and opted to watch Disney instead – follows…
If you ask a Mainer about taxes, you’re liable to get an earful: Mainers have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Nonetheless, on election day, Maine voters turned down proposals to cut taxes. In a slow economy, Maine voters were leery of a proposal that would result in cuts in services. The…
“Lesen Sie es von meinen Lippen ab, keine neuen Steuern.”(translation: Read my lips, no new taxes.) Okay, maybe German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t actually say that – but that was the gist of her message when she made a play for a second term. And it worked. With Germany suffering through its own economic woes,…
Just days after President Obama outlined his proposed budget, which includes tax modifications (yeah, it’s a cheesy word, keep reading) for high wage earners, key leaders in Congress are making noise that they might not be in support of the plan. Chief among them is Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) who questioned whether…
Oh, it’s going to be a long January… President Elect Barack Obama has proposed tax cuts for individuals and small businesses as part of his massive economic stimulus package. The price tag on the cuts? About $300 billion. With a b. Don’t get too excited just yet. These are just proposed cuts. There’s a lot…
Senate Republicans blocked a proposal today that would tax the windfall profits of the country’s largest oil companies. The GOP put together 43 votes, which left the Democrats 9 votes short of what they needed to break a filibuster and bring the proposal to a vote. Democrats had urged Congress to pass the bill, with…
As his popularity continues to decline, President Bush has re-introduced legislation to extend his 2001 and 2003 or risk what he is calling “the largest tax increase in history.” Realistically, some of the cuts will likely be extended or made permanent – but not all. Bush claims, for example, that allowing the tax cuts to…