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Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
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Most Americans pay less in taxes, including state, local and federal taxes, today than in 1980 in inflation adjusted dollars. The taxes have gone down by 2-3% for incomes in the range of $50,000 to $150,000, and gone down by 3-4% for incomes between $150,000 and $350,000. Taxes have gone down over 7% for incomes above $350,000. The main reason is the decline in federal income taxes.Tax rates increased in the period to 1990 and declined from 1990 to 2010. The Democratic party and president Obama are pushing for increase in taxes for incomes above $250,000. Republicans are resisting the changes citing disincentives to investment and growth for small business which generates a large proportion of new jobs created in the U.S. economy. The New York Times study shows the percent of the U.S. population that makes between $200,000 and $350,000 almost doubling in the period 1980-2010 and at the same time its share of the U.S. income remaining the same - many small business owners who hire employees would fall into this income category. Republican's response is for tax reforms that reduce loopholes, deductions and other tax expeditures that disproportionately help the wealthy. Democrats say this cannot create enough revenues to address the deficit, when mortgage deductions, charitable deductions are excluded. The back and forth is leading to stalemate but also opening up discussion for the first time on whether the mortgage and charitable deductions make sense in today's environment. A significant portion of revenues lost in the mortgage deduction goes to affluent households, subsidizing larger borrowings to build larger homes than otherwise, according to the Brookings Institution. Politicians have resisted changes that would go against powerful lobyying groups in the past, yet the impasse has opened up new thinking outside the box because of the pressing need to come up with a solution.
Checking the numbers in the U.S. presidential campaign- Romney's Medicare $716 billion and Obama's tax cuts $5 trillion
08/20/2012
Romney says Obama would reduce money for Medicare by $716 billion-the material fact here is that Obama health care law by reducing payments to providers by $716 billion is likely to push up premiums for insurance. Premiums are already going up and Romney gives the estimate of $2500 in increased premiums so far. Obama says Romney will cut taxes by $5 trillion and this will lead to harsh spending cuts on education and other improtant areas- the material fact here is that Romney says he will not cut education only programs that do not justify borrowing money from China to pay from them, and he will make his reduction of taxes to induce economic, also make it revenue neutral by removing or reducing deductions and loopholes especially for the rich and higher income groups. One approach he says is to flat stop deductions beyond $17,000 and lower for higher income people.
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A Closer Look at What the Presidential Candidates Said in the Debate
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Obama, Seeking Re-Election, Asks for Patience
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Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
New York Times 11/29/2012
Deficit discussions in the U.S. and revenue from taxes- 2011-2012
07/04/2011
Negotiations between the White House, Democrats and Republicans, to achieve major reductions and cuts in spending, and increase tax revenues by reducing tax expenditures. The discussions for an action plan on the U.S. budget deficit have reached an impasse with Republicans opposed to any tax increases.
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Google's U.S. federal tax liability of 18%. GE's low tax rate.
10/28/2010
The US tax rate for corporations at 35%, but the $1.5 billion federal tax liability of Google comes to an effective 18% tax rate. GE's consolidated tax rate of 11.6% from 2005 to 2009. This is also true of other large American companies, raising questions of fairness at a time of budget cuts in education, Medicaid and Medicare. Many U.S. companies, such as Apple, also use offshore tax havens to protect profits from taxes.
Grouped Articles
Apple Avoided Taxes on Overseas Billions, Senate Panel Finds
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Appleâs Web of Tax Shelters Saved It Billions, Panel Finds
New York Times 05/20/2013
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Lawmakers Square Off Over Taxes
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Ireland Defends Tax Laws to Critics at Home and Abroad
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The Corrosive Effect of Apple’s Tax Avoidance
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Warren Buffett on a U.S. wealth tax
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Warren Buffett Has an Image Problem
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Britain's Missing Millionaires
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The New York Times 08/12/2016
U.S. States preference for budget cuts not tax increases in deficit reduction- 2011-2012
07/07/2011
A detailed look at how 46 states turned to budget cuts not tax increases as they looked for ways to reduce the budget deficits.
Grouped Articles
Higher Taxes Yield to Budget Cuts in States
Wall Street Journal 07/07/2011
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Tom Keene Talks to Robert Skidelsky
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Families Feel Sharp Edge of State Budget Cuts
New York Times 09/06/2011
States face bleak economic forecast, report says - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/29/2011
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The U.S. debt, short term financing, interest rates and future tax increases- implications of current policy
01/16/2009
The implications of a loose monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve and about 52% of debt being of short term maturities of less than 3 years at low interest rates- an average of 2.24% on U.S. Treasury debt of over $11 trillion in Jan. 2012. If interest rates were to rise in 2014-2017 as predicted by the CBO, interest rates of 5-6% could mean significantly higher interest payments on the debt- doubling or tripling current interest payments on debt of $225 billion- and calls for tax increases such as the value addded taxes in Europe.
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Sovereign-debt managers: Rollover roulette
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Rep. Dave Camp of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and tax reforms to address the deficit
07/18/2011
Rep/ Dave Camp (MI) helps Republicans navigate the issues surrounding changes in U.S. taxes, including reducing or removing tax deductions to reduce the budget deficit. His ideas about changing the tax code to make it simpler and generate tax revenues of 18-19% of GDP instead of 16% in 2012.
Grouped Articles
GOP Hopefuls Betting Voters Want Deep Cuts
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Rep. Dave Camp patiently pursues tax reform - The Washington Post
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The Balanced Budget Amendment in the U.S. Congress in August 2011
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Critics say the balanced budget amendment would prevent the use of countercyclical policies in a downturn like the present one facing the U.S. economy. Because of the tendency of politicians to avoid difficult decisions and "kick the can down the road," it serves to focus attention on making the cuts in spending, including tax expenditures, that can help reduce the deficit to sustainable levels.
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Romney's conveys to voters that he looks favorably at giving coverage to people with preexisting conditions and other popular aspects of the health care law, and he reminds voters that he got everybody in his state insured. He is also careful to show that he will not reduces taxes by a huge amount to worsen the deficit, but enough to stimulate business investment, simplify taxes, and close loopholes and deductions to offset reductions in taxes.
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Republican positions that do not require offsets for tax reduction, and Democratic positions that go along with the status quo. The politics behind the debt ceiling talks as President Obama seeks re-election and advantage going into the election, and the conservative Republicans oppose any tax increases.
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Why are Americans averse to higher taxes in comparison to Italians and other Europeans asks Porter. And does it have something to do with European satisfaction with seeing tax dollars at work in the homogenous societies of Europe, compared to less evidence of tax dollars put to productive use and the linguistic and cultural diversity in the U.S.?
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Over 80 U.S. CEO's issue a statement endorsing the basic framework of Simpson-Bowles commission of tax increases of $1 for every $3 in spending cuts to reduce the U.S. deficit. The statement calls for lowering tax rates as part of tax reform, capping deductions and loopholes to broaden the tax base, and cutting spending. The Romney campaign says it will go beyond what Simpson-Bowles proposed in addressing the deficit. The Obama campaign says it agrees with the idea of combining tax increases with spending cuts. CEO's also support simplifying the corporate tax code and lowering taxes to improve competitiveness.
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Increasing U.S. taxes on the middle class
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The Wall Street Journal points to the facts that Warren Buffett does not cover in his plea for higher taxes on billionaires like himself who paid only 17% in taxes in 2010. Buffett made most of his income in capital gains and dividends that are taxed at 15%. That income was already taxed at 35% as corporate income and the 15% on top of that brings the total tax to about 45%. Buffett could write the IRS a check or support taking away the deduction for charitable contributions which is how Buffett contributes to his foundations. For most of the middle class couples making $250,000 for a few years of their life- and much of it going to high university tution payments for kids- the higher taxes make a difference compared to the Buffetts of the world. This is part of the debate on taxes in the U.S. at the time of the fiscal cliff negotiations in Dec. 2012.
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Floyd Norris outlines the approach taken by Reagan and the Treasury Department in its report in 1984, which basically started out without any exemptions and loopholes, and then asked the question how much marginal rates have to go up to justify a particular exemption or loophole supported by a lobbying group. Two similar families with the same income were to be treated in the same way regardless of the source or use of their income, so that one did not end up having to pay more in tax than the other.
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Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
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The Payroll Tax in the U.S. and surtax on incomes over $1 million as a political issue in 2012
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Selling the Bush tax cuts in the U.S. and opposition in the Democratic party in 2010
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Former President Clinton helps to sell the Bush tax cuts in 2010. This is an effort to salvage the agreement President Obama negotiated with the Republicans.
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The mortgage interest deduction in the U.S. deficit reduction negotiations
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The mortgage interest deduction is no longer off the table in the fiscal cliff and deficit reduction negotiations. This deduction is worth $100 billion in tax expenditures.
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New York Times 11/29/2012
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New York Times 11/29/2012
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The Congressional Research service (CRS) and the Hungerford report on tax reform
11/01/2012
Hungerford concludes that 65 year of U.S. tax reform and changes in top tax rates have not affected investment and capital formation. Questions about its bias and use in the 2012 presidental elections.
Grouped Articles
Congressional Research Hit Job
Wall Street Journal 11/01/2012
Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
New York Times 11/29/2012
The U.S. economy and difficult choices in 2012-2013 as seen in Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections
01/16/2009
The U.S. faces difficult choices in 2012-2013- efforts to close the deficit by letting the Bush tax cuts and payroll tax cuts expire and making spending reductions will lead to low growth. Not doing this will lead to growth with much higher deficits and unsustainable debt levels.
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Four Deficit Myths and a Frightening Fact
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Unknown 02/05/2014
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Deficit Is Again Set to Top $1 Trillion
Wall Street Journal 02/01/2012
Paul Volcker's views on U.S. corporate taxation
10/07/2012
Volcker sees the need to reduce or eliminate many of the loopholes and exemptions in the tax system and lower rates overall.
Grouped Articles
Paul Volcker's Views on the Taxation of U.S. Companies
Wall Street Journal 10/07/2012
To Reduce Inequality, Tax Wealth, Not Income
New York Times 11/18/2012
Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
New York Times 11/29/2012
Global Competition to Cut Corporate Taxes Heats Up
WSJ 11/21/2016
The New York Times Nov. 2012 study on the U.S. tax burden in 1980 compared to 2010 for a range of income groups
11/29/2012
Balancing fairness and equity considerations with concerns about economic growth and job creation by small business owners in the U.S. economy. The study comes out at the time of the fiscal cliff negotiations in Dec. 2012 between Republicans and Democrats.
Grouped Articles
Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
New York Times 11/29/2012
President Delivers a New Offer on the Fiscal Crisis to Boehner
New York Times 12/17/2012
The New York Times 08/12/2016
U.S. tax reform, issues of equity and fairness and the mortgage deduction
11/29/2012
Linked Articles
Most Americans Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the 80s
New York Times 11/29/2012
Mortgage-interest deduction could be on the table in ‘fiscal cliff’ debate - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/29/2012
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