Federal Tax Policy

Federal Tax Policy: News Analysis

Subtopics

Budget Surpluses, Deficits and the National Debt

OMB Watch is a member of Fair Taxes for All (FTFA), a growing coalition of more than 300 national, state and local organizations united in opposition to irresponsible changes in tax law that shift the tax burden away from the wealthy onto average Americans.

Budget Process Basics: A Brief Introduction to the Budget Process

Background Brief: Budget Resolutions

Tools You Can Use - Links to Various Resources

Understanding PAYGO
Glossary of Important Budget Terms

News

Congress Struggles with Tax Bills ahead of July 4 Recess 06/24/2008
In the dwindling days before the July 4 congressional recess, the House and Senate will try to break the longstanding logjams on three critical pieces of tax legislation: a proposal to approve a "patch" to hold constant the number of taxpayers liable to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a bill to renew dozens of tax provisions collectively referred to as the "extenders," and the tax title of Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) foreclosure guarantee bill. Read More

President Bush: Veto Rhetoric vs. Fiscal Reality 05/28/2008
Although Congress has not yet begun to consider any of the appropriations bills that will finance the federal government in FY 2009, the White House threatened to veto Democratic spending bills — even before any details were unveiled. With the flurry of veto threats late in his presidency, President Bush appears to be attempting to erase seven-plus years of reckless fiscal management of the federal government with token gestures that feign fiscal responsibility. Despite these recent actions, budget watchdogs say the Bush legacy on fiscal policy will be one of irresponsibility, inattention to detail, and futility. Read More

House Relentless in Pursuing Contracting Reforms 05/28/2008
In the last several weeks, the House has continued its efforts to address federal contracting reform. With bills stalling in the Senate, the House has begun to attach various reform provisions to legislative vehicles that are more likely to be enacted into law this year. Marrying these proposals to the war supplemental bill and the Defense Authorization bill, for example, greatly increases the chances these important reforms will be implemented in 2008. Read More

Gas Tax Holiday Would Yield Little for Consumers 05/13/2008
Increasing gasoline prices have spurred federal lawmakers to propose policies designed to help consumers at the pump. One such proposal that has garnered considerable attention is a "gas tax holiday." Unfortunately, this proposal would do little for consumers because it would be unlikely to lower the price of gas. Read More

House Foreclosure Legislation Meets GOP Ambiguity 05/13/2008
Despite a worsening housing crisis across the country, Congress continues to move slowly to enact legislation intended to ease the burden for homeowners. On May 8, the House adopted comprehensive legislation (H.R. 3221) that would seek to reduce foreclosures in the face of an administration veto threat issued just days before. But Senate negotiations between the chair and ranking member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee have gone on for weeks, with no deal in sight. Most members' eagerness to pass a bill to address the crisis before Memorial Day has thus far been thwarted by key GOP leaders in Congress and some in the Bush administration. Read More

Lack of Action in Congress on Pivotal Fiscal Policy Issues 04/29/2008
Congress continues to wrestle with a number of high-profile budget and financial bills that will have broad impact on citizens throughout the United States and around the world, including legislation on war funding, economic stimulus, housing, and the last budget of the Bush presidency. Despite significant congressional rhetoric and media coverage of these efforts, Congress has made little real progress on reaching compromise or instituting policies. Read More

Housing Crisis Legislation: A Tale of Two Houses 04/15/2008
By fits and starts, Congress is moving toward a legislative response to the housing sector crisis — the biggest sectoral crisis to afflict the U.S. economy since the technology stock bubble burst earlier this decade. In what might turn out to be a case of the tortoise and the hare, the Senate has jumped out front with a housing bill that enjoys little if any support in the House or the Bush administration, while the House has embarked on a schedule of hearings and mark-ups of a much-praised bill of a wholly different nature. There is a widely shared consensus that, with elections approaching, Congress must and will act to address the crisis, but thus far, the two houses are proceeding along on separate, if not perpendicular, tracks. Read More

House Cancels Private Tax Collection Program 04/15/2008
On April 15, the House passed the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008 (H.R. 5719). The bill, approved by a 238-179 vote, is a collection of provisions aimed at facilitating income tax compliance — especially among elderly and low-income taxpayers. Most significantly, the bill would end the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) highly controversial private debt collection (PDC) program. Read More

| < 1 >

| 2

| 3

| 4

| 5

| 6

| 7

| 8

| 9

| 10

| 11-20

| 21

| Next >>