RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Adam Looney, December 14, 2011, The Brookings Institution
On December 14, Adam Looney took your questions on extending unemployment benefits and payroll tax breaks in a live web chat moderated by POLITICO. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert C. Pozen, December 13, 2011, The Brookings Institution
Robert Pozen summarizes tax reform proposals put forth by the Obama administration and Republican presidential candidates, and looks at issues such as the expiration of the payroll tax cut, currently scheduled to occur in January 2012. Pozen also explains what’s needed to pass serious tax reform in the next year. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William G. Gale, October 13, 2011, The New York Times
William Gale writes that Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan is doubly problematic, in that it would severely raise taxes on low- and middle-income households and cut taxes on high-income households, while raising far less revenue than the current tax system. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert C. Pozen, July 19, 2011, The Washington Post
In negotiations on the debt ceiling, President Obama suggested that revenue be raised through higher tax rates for the wealthy — an idea that Republicans have uniformly rejected. Robert Pozen writes, however, that there are ways revenue can be raised without violating Republicans' commitment to increase tax rates, by closing corporate loopholes and limiting expansive personal deductions. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Henry J. Aaron, July 08, 2011, The New Republic
In the context of the deficit reduction debate, Henry Aaron writes that "tax reform" has evolved from a bipartisan agenda for raising revenues with a minimum of economic distortion, into a new way for conservatives to benefit well-to-do Americans and to reduce the size of government. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William G. Gale and Benjamin Harris, June 27, 2011, POLITICO
To help stimulate the economy, some are calling for a tax holiday on profits held by foreign subsidiaries. William Gale and Benjamin Harris argue against this measure, noting that this corporate tax holiday is not only very expensive but also ineffective. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William A. Galston, May 12, 2011, The New Republic
During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama promised that taxes would either stay the same or go down for households making less than $250,000 a year. However, writes William Galston, unless President Obama is prepared to tolerate huge deficits indefinitely, or to emulate arch-conservatives and curb the budget deficit with spending cuts only, he will have to break his unsustainable tax pledge at some point. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Thomas E. Mann, April 07, 2011, The Brookings Institution
A U.S. government shutdown has been avoided, and now attention turns to the FY 2012 budget. Thomas Mann comments on Rep. Paul Ryan's recently released 2012 budget, which he says would intensify political polarization through its focus on reducing the size of government and lowering taxes, rather than raising revenue to address the budget deficit. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Adam Looney, December 15, 2010, The Brookings Institution
On December 15, Brookings expert Adam Looney, policy director of The Hamilton Project, answered your questions in a live chat moderated by POLITICO about the problems with the U.S. tax system and what the deal being forged now between the White House and Congress says about the reform battle ahead. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William A. Galston, December 08, 2010, Financial Times
The left of the Democratic party reacted with cold fury, accusing the administration of squandering a winning hand without a fight after President Barack Obama reached a deal with Republicans to keep temporarily tax cuts for wealthy Americans, writes William Galston. Yet even if President Obama reasoned he could not overcome Republican resistance, his decision reveals an increasingly clear governing philosophy: liberal realism. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Isabel V. Sawhill, October 06, 2010, POLITICO
Isabel Sawhill offers alternatives to the prevailing options surrounding the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, keeping in mind that the country needs short-term stimulus, but must simultaneously deal with looming deficits. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William G. Gale, September 29, 2010, The Brookings Institution
On September 29, William Gale participated in a live web chat where he answered questions about the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, the politics behind the action on Capitol Hill, and the economic impact of possible outcomes. POLITICO senior editor David Mark moderated the discussion. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
William G. Gale, September 28, 2010, The New York Times
Bill Gale refutes the "trickle down" effect being used to argue for the Bush tax cuts. Gale notes that economic research over the past decade points to tax cuts in general being a relatively weak way to help the economy. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert C. Pozen, September 23, 2010, Financial Times
Robert Pozen argues that Congress can help promote a stronger economic recovery in the U.S. by providing certainty on taxes for at least the next few years. Pozen outlines a compromise on taxes that should be acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats—though neither would praise it. Read More
VIDEO
Adam Looney, September 17, 2010
This week @ Brookings, Adam Looney addresses the merits of allowing some of the Bush-era tax cuts to expire and begin reducing the U.S. budget deficit, or whether extending the cuts to potentially stimulate the economy is the better course.