Author: Alex Welch

January 23, 2006 02:25 PM | Permalink |

Since President George W. Bush’s tax cuts took effect in 2001, more than a quarter of all federal spending outside of the self-funded Social Security system has been paid for by borrowing—with no relief in sight.

From fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2005, deficits in the regular budget totaled a staggering $2 trillion, meaning that 27 percent of non-Social Security spending was financed with borrowed money. In fiscal 2006 so far, 30 percent of non-Social Security spending has been paid for by another $0.2 trillion in borrowing.

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December 22, 2005 02:26 PM | Permalink |

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office paints a bleak picture of the nation’s fiscal health. The CBO’s biennial Long-Term Budget Outlook report, released on December 15, shows that under any realistic forecast of federal spending and tax collection trends, the nation faces budget deficits—and growing federal debt—as far as the eye can see.

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December 6, 2005 01:00 PM | Permalink |

Passed by the Senate and pending in the House are two “tax reconciliation” bills, which, if enacted, will represent the fifth straight year of tax reductions under President Bush. The Senate plan passed the Senate by a 64–33 vote.1 The pending House plan is backed by President Bush and the House Republican leadership. The two bills differ markedly.

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November 21, 2005 03:57 PM | Permalink |

Almost all of George W. Bush’s tax cuts are now in place, or have begun to phase in. But two of the most regressive (and most overlooked) tax cuts enacted in 2001 will begin to take effect starting on January 1, 2006.

Since 1991, under a law signed by the first President Bush, the benefits of personal exemptions and most itemized deductions have been gradually phased out for the very wealthiest taxpayers. In 2001, however, the second President Bush succeeded in repealing his father’s reforms. The repeal is scheduled to begin to take effect in 2006, with full repeal in 2010.

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November 8, 2005 03:37 PM | Permalink |

Current federal tax law provides a credit against taxes otherwise due of up to $1,000 for each child age 16 or under. Not all families are eligible for the full credits, however.

In particular, the $1,000 child tax credit is phased in at lower income levels, in order to deny or limit its benefits to low-income working families. The threshold to begin receiving benefits was set at $10,000 in earnings in 2001, and is adjusted upwards every year for inflation.

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October 18, 2005 02:17 PM | Permalink |

Early news reports about the upcoming report from President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform indicate that the panel will propose a major tax shift away from capital income and onto wage-earners. In addition, the plan contemplates permanent extension of the revenue losses from Bush’s previously enacted tax cuts past 2010, at a cost of $7 trillion over the next two decades. This in turn will almost guarantee huge federal budget deficits for the future.

“The panel’s upcoming tax proposals appear both to increase taxes substantially on most Americans and sharply increase future burdens on our children,” said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice. “While we await full details, this approach looks a lot more like tax deform than true reform.”

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July 28, 2005 01:50 PM | Permalink |

The energy bill agreed upon by a conference committee this week would create a host of expensive new corporate tax breaks, mostly targeted toward the oil and gas industry. The bill, HR 6, includes $14.5 billion in new tax breaks over the next ten years. Specifically:

The bill provides special accelerated depreciation rules allowing certain natural gas and electricity properties to be written off even faster than other capital investments, which are already allowed to be written off considerably faster than the assets actually wear out. For example, the bill would allow natural gas distribution pipelines to be completely depreciated over 15 years—far less than the actual useful life of such pipelines. The bill would also allow oil companies to immediately write off costs associated with expanding the capacity of existing refineries. Ten-year cost: $3.8 billion.

Companies that generate electricity from wind, garbage and chicken waste would see an extension of tax breaks that date back to the Carter administration. The cost of propping up an “infant industry” that refuses to grow up $2.7 billion over ten years.

The bill also allows “geological and geophysical” costs associated with oil exploration to be written off faster. Ten-year cost: $1 billion.

A much smaller part of the bill’s overall cost would encourage alternative energy policies such as energy-efficient home improvements and solar energy. Ten-year cost: $3 billion.

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May 24, 2005 01:02 PM | Permalink |

Repeal of the individual Alternative Minimum Tax would add more than $50 billion to the federal budget deficit in 2006, and would reduce revenues by more than $600 billion over 10 years. The tax cuts would be heavily tilted in favor of the wealthy.

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April 21, 2005 01:53 PM | Permalink |

The energy bill being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives this week would create a host of expensive new corporate tax breaks, mostly targeted toward the oil and gas industry. The bill, H.R. 6, has been estimated to cuts taxes by over $8 billion over the next ten years. Specifically:

The bill provides special accelerated depreciation rules allowing certain natural gas and electricity properties to be written off even faster than other capital investments, which are already allowed to be written off considerably faster than the assets actually wear out. For example, the bill would allow natural gas distribution pipelines to be completely depreciated over 15 years—far less than the actual useful life of such pipelines. Ten-year cost: $3.1 billion.

The bill also allows “geological and geophysical” costs associated with oil exploration to be written off faster. Ten-year cost: $1 billion.

A much smaller part of the bill’s overall cost would encourage alternative energy policies such as energy-efficient home improvements and solar energy. Ten-year cost: $500 million.

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April 15, 2005 03:58 PM | Permalink |

The 2004 tax returns released today by President Bush and Vice-president Cheney show that the two saved a combined $110,182 in taxes last year from the President’s income tax cuts. Specifically:

• President and Mrs. Bush reported $784,219 in total income on their tax return. They paid $207,307 in income tax, $28,846 less than under the pre-Bush tax law.
• Vice-president and Mrs. Cheney reported $2,173,892 in total income on their tax return. They paid $365,840 in income tax, $81,336 less than under the pre- Bush tax law.
• In percentage terms, the Bushes paid 12 percent less in income tax due to the President’s tax cuts. The Cheneys paid 18 percent less.

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