News
CNN Money | Business tax breaks booted from payroll deal
The last legislative freight train is about to leave the station, and a set of expired business tax breaks that regularly get extended is being left on the platform.
Politico | CBO: Tax deal cost is $89 billion over decade
New Congressional Budget Office estimates show that the House-Senate payroll tax package will add $167.5 billion to the deficit over the next three years, but as offsets fully kick in, that will be reduced to about half, or $89.3 billion, over the decade.
NY Times | The Buffett Tax Rule Is Really More of a Guideline
President Obama has made the Buffett Rule, mandating that millionaires pay at least 30 percent of their incomes in taxes, the centerpiece of his campaign for “fairness.” But look for it among the myriad tax changes the White House detailed in the 2013 budget proposal it released this week, and you will not find it.
Econ Comments & Analysis
NBER | The Virtuous Tax: Lifesaving and Crime-Prevention Effects of the 1991 Federal Alcohol-Tax Increase
On January 1, 1991, the federal excise tax on beer doubled, and the tax rates on wine and liquor increased as well. These changes are larger than the typical state-level changes that have been used to study the effect of price on alcohol abuse and its consequences.
Fortune | Payroll tax cut, meet $4 gas
The payroll tax cut is more of a cushion than a stimulus for the U.S. economy. With higher fuel prices, that cushion may already be deflating.
CRS | Who Earns Pass-Through Business Income? An Analysis of Individual Tax Return Data
This report analyzes individual tax return data to determine who earns pass-through business income and bears the burden of taxes on that income. The analysis finds that over 82% of net pass-through income is earned by taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) over $100,000, although these taxpayers account for just 23% of returns filed.
Heritage Foundation | Tax Extenders and the AMT Patch: Time to Pull the Plug on Congress’s Annual Dance
A host of annual tax-reducing provisions expired on December 31, 2011. As it does each year, before restoring these policies, Congress is sure to argue about how to “pay for” extending these tax reducers, for some of which have been the law as long as 30 years.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Targeted Tax Credits: Neither Conservative nor Free Market
As Congress hammers out the details of the payroll tax extension package, Members on the left and the right are making last-minute attempts to include a number of other provisions, including production tax credits for alternative energy sources.
WSJ | Payroll Tax Rate Should Rise Back to Normal in 2013
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday he wouldn’t support another temporary payroll-tax cut extension next year.
