Each year, the federal government actually spends more on programs it administers via the tax code – i.e. “tax expenditures” – than it does on discretionary spending programs. A new report from Citizens for Tax Justice, Judging Tax Expenditures, explains why it’s time for the federal government to finally follow through on its long-unfulfilled promise to evaluate the usefulness of these special tax breaks.
(State-by-State Figures in Appendix)
H.R. 3962, the health care reform bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 7, includes a 5.4 percent surcharge on adjusted gross income (AGI) above $1 million for married couples and $500,000 for singles. Our calculations confirm statements from the House Ways and Means Committee that this would affect only the richest 0.3 percent of taxpayers in 2011, the first year the surcharge would take effect.
Written testimony of Michael J. McIntyre, professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit, and Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, on the proposed tax treaties with France, New Zealand, and Malta. Submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Efforts by Congressional leaders to extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are entirely reasonable. It is unfortunate, however, that the price of providing this necessary help will be tax breaks to corporations and to the housing industry. The expansion and extension of both the homebuyer credit and the "net operating loss carryback" are ill-advised.
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