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If by ‘success’ you mean ‘embarrassing boondoggle,’ yes, it was a success
The First Time Homebuyer Credit expires today. At the moment it doesn’t appear that yet another extension is in the cards. The New York Times calls it “Successful, but Costly.” Yes, it is a success, if...
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Make mine a double, the rich guy is buying
The Tax Policy Center has a bunch of new tables on how the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts will affect different levels. It’s useful information, but the obsession with how taxes affect “the rich”...
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Fact-checking the fact-checkers
An effort by “Factcheck.org” passed on by the TaxProf doesn’t inspire confidence in their fact-checking prowess. This is part of their “fact check” on the Republican “pledge” election year platform:...
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Yes, the rich do pay higher taxes
Whenever you point out that the rich do pay significantly higher federal taxes than the poor, somebody shoots right back: what about payroll taxes? Whenever you say that the tax system already leans...
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The math on taxation of investment income
TaxVox explains the math of tax breaks for dividends and capital gains. Of couse, a 35% corporation income tax is already embedded in dividends and in capital gains on corporate stock. The Tax Policy...
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The President and the Teacher, revisited
FactCheck.org and the Tax Policy Blog say that the President was wrong to say that he pays a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher, as I noted approvingly last week. Tax blogger Mary O’Keeffe says I...
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‘Buffett Rule’ rates are already here
The Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan think tank on the center-left, has issued a wonderful little paper that cuts through much nonsense on the progressivity of federal taxes. The Obama administration...
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Nope. Still doomed.
Congress just passed a bill to continue the 2 percentage-point reduction in employee Social Security tax through the end of the year. Meanwhile, the President and many pundits are obsessed with...
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Tax Roundup, 8/2/2012: You pay for everything. If you pay less, where’s my...
TPC: Romney Plan Would Cut Taxes for Rich, Raise Taxes on Middle Class and Poor. (Tax Prof). Some news, folks: if spending doesn’t come down drastically, taxes are going up for the middle class and...
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Tax Roundup, 8/21/2012: Branstad to push income tax rate cuts? Also, tax and...
Will Iowa finally do something about it’s horrendous income tax? Governor Branstad provided a glimmer of hope, according to the Quad City Times’ Rod Boshart (my emphasis): Gov. Terry Branstad said...
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Tax Roundup, 9/30/15: Taking from rich doesn’t give to the poor; state...
Today we have two instances where policy tanks that I usually disagree with make important tax policy points. First, The center-left Tax Policy Center, a project of the Brookings Institution (which I...
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Tax Roundup, 11/8/16: IRS and the elections. Also: lots of campaign tax...
There’s some civic event today. The dumbest election campaign since at least the last one comes to a close today. Tax policy and tax administration have had minor roles in this year’s carnival of...
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