July 7, 2009 1:35 PM
(State-by-State Figures in Appendix)
Itemized deductions provide subsidies for certain activities (like buying a home or giving to charity) through the tax system. But they unfairly subsidize these activities at higher rates for wealthy families than they do for middle-income families. The President’s proposal to reduce this unfairness would only impact 1.3 percent of taxpayers. Almost all of these taxpayers are among the very richest Americans.
June 12, 2009 12:26 PM
A new report from CTJ examines a duo of new “studies” claiming that repeal of the estate tax is crucial to our economy. The studies, which were commissioned by a foundation established to promote repeal of the estate tax, use one-sided analysis to produce the conclusions that their funders desire.
June 3, 2009 12:41 PM
Citizens for Tax Justice presentation to Rebuild and Renew America Now (RRAN) member organizations on June 3, 2009.
May 21, 2009 12:23 PM
There are straightforward ways to raise revenue that will not be overly burdensome for taxpayers and which will not harm the economy. They involve eliminating or reducing several subsidies and preferences provided in the federal tax code to the wealthiest and most powerful among us. Combined with savings in the existing health care system, these measures could raise enough revenue to adequately fund health care reform.
May 15, 2009 10:12 PM | Permalink | 
On May 11, the Treasury Department released new details on President Obama’s proposed changes to the tax code. In addition to extending the Bush tax cuts for all but the richest Americans and making permanent many of the tax cuts in the recently enacted economic recovery act, the President would also make many changes that would raise revenue by closing loopholes, blocking tax avoidance schemes and making the tax code more progressive.
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May 15, 2009 01:53 PM | Permalink |
On May 11, the Treasury Department released new details on President Obama’s proposed changes to the tax code. In addition to extending the Bush tax cuts for all but the richest Americans and making permanent many of the tax cuts in the recently enacted economic recovery act, the President would also make many changes that would raise revenue by closing loopholes, blocking tax avoidance schemes and making the tax code more progressive.
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May 15, 2009 10:12 PM
On May 11, the Treasury Department released new details on President Obama’s proposed changes to the tax code. In addition to extending the Bush tax cuts for all but the richest Americans and making permanent many of the tax cuts in the recently enacted economic recovery act, the President would also make many changes that would raise revenue by closing loopholes, blocking tax avoidance schemes and making the tax code more progressive.
May 8, 2009 01:51 PM | Permalink |
On May 4, President Obama proposed several measures to address overseas tax avoidance and tax evasion. The proposals are steps in the right direction but could be far stronger. (See CTJ’s description of the measures for more technical details.)
While the President’s proposals are relatively modest, the corporate community claims that these measures are unfair and would limit economic growth in America.
The corporate lobbyists and spokespersons are wrong. Here are some of the frequently repeated myths, and the actual facts, about offshore tax abuses and what the President and many lawmakers want to do about them.
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May 8, 2009 01:49 PM | Permalink |
On May 4, President Obama proposed several measures to protect the U.S. tax system from offshore tax abuses. The proposed measures, which address both tax avoidance and tax evasion, are steps in the right direction but could be stronger. The additional details made public by the Treasury Department on May 11 provide more reason to be hopeful, but also illustrate certain gaps in the administration’s approach. For example, the President proposes to limit the rules allowing corporations to “defer” their U.S. taxes on foreign income. He would not repeal “deferral” altogether and he would largely exempt technology and pharmaceutical companies from even the weak limits he proposes. He proposes sensible steps to reduce abuses of the foreign tax credit and the “check-the-box” rules that allow multinational corporations to cause their subsidiaries’ income to “disappear.” His proposals to crack down on the use of secret accounts in offshore tax havens are also positive steps but could be much stronger.
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April 15, 2009 02:23 PM | Permalink |
A recent Gallup poll found that 61 percent of respondents felt that the federal income tax they will have to pay this year is “fair.” When asked about the specific amount of federal income taxes they pay, just over half felt they pay the right amount or too little. Forty-eight percent of respondents thought that the amount of federal income tax they pay is “about right.” That’s the highest percentage of people who responded that way since 1956. (Another three percent thought they the paid too little.)
Fewer than half of those polled, 46 percent, said they thought their federal income taxes are “too high.”1 It appears, however, that some of these respondents are basing their answers on the right-wing, anti-tax propaganda they’ve heard rather than their own income tax liability.
In particular, 39 percent of respondents with incomes below $30,000 said that they thought the federal income taxes they pay are “too high.” This is remarkable, because only 32 percent of taxpayers in this income group will pay any federal income tax at all on their 2008 income.
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