The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a complex, unfair, and inefficient shadow tax system that threatens to affect 32 million taxpayers by 2010, many of them solidly middle class. Under current law, repealing the AMT without offsets would cost more than $850 billion through 2017. This paper...

A bipartisan consensus favors public policy initiatives to expand health insurance coverage. This paper summarizes new Current Population Survey (CPS) data on health insurance coverage for the non-elderly and discusses the issues involved in subsidizing health insurance. We outline a tax credit...

Despite their passion and fury, contemporary Americans are remarkably clueless about how their tax system works. But with heated debates over taxation now roiling Congress and the nation, an understanding of our tax system is of vital importance. Taxes in America, by preeminent tax scholars...

One possible explanation for the difficulty in controlling the budget is that a major component of spending --tax expenditures--receives privileged status. It is treated as tax cuts rather than spending. This paper explores the implications of that classification and illustrates how it can lead...

Despite their passion and fury, contemporary Americans are remarkably clueless about how their tax system works. But with heated debates over taxation now roiling Congress and the nation, an understanding of the American tax system is of vital importance. Taxes in America, by preeminent tax...

Leonard E. Burman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs, at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University,presented testimony on “Tax Reform and the Tax Treatment of Capital Gains” before the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, September 20,...

One possible explanation for the difficulty in controlling the budget is that a major component of spending—tax expenditures—receives privileged status. It is treated as tax cuts rather than as spending. This paper explores the implications of that classification and illustrates how it can...

This paper examines the history and economic effects of the BDT in Colombia. Section II reviews the history of the BDT in Colombia. Section III discusses its use throughout Latin America. Section IV examines the effects of Colombia’s BDT on efficiency, equity, and tax administration. Section V...