Obama’s New Secretary of Redistribution


This week, President Obama made Harvard Professor Dr. Donald M. Berwick a recess appointee to run Medicare and Medicaid. Based upon his public statements, Dr. Berwick seems very much in line with Obama’s belief in the benefits of “spreading the wealth around.”

During a speech in England in which he praised the British national health care [...]

New Podcast: Paul Frankel of Morrison & Foerster on Retroactivity


The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied requests to review two separate cases addressing tax retroactivity and related tax law controversies. In this week’s Tax Policy Podcast, Arushi Sharma, a clerk with the Tax Foundation’s Center for Legal Reform, interviews Paul Frankel, a partner at the New York-based law firm Morrison & Foerster. Paul Frankel co-chairs [...]

New Issue of Tax Watch


Tax Watch is the Tax Foundation’s quarterly tax policy newsletter, presenting our economic research and analysis in a simple, non-technical format-ideal for the non-economist looking for a clear explanation of current tax issues.

Highlights from the Summer 2010 issue include:

•  A Smaller Federal Budget Starts at Home

• Healthcare Bill May Redistribute Billions

• Testimony: Protect the Economy [...]

New Podcast: Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri on State Tax Reform


Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) recently signed into law sweeping changes to the state’s individual tax system. The reform reduces the state’s top income tax rate from 9.9% to 5.99%, increases the standard deduction and eliminates the optional flat tax. In this week’s podcast, Governor Carcieri discusses the changes with [...]

New Podcast: Dick Patten of the American Family Business Institute on Estate Tax Reform


On this week’s Tax Policy Podcast, Dick Patten, President of the American Family Business Institute (AFBI), discusses the federal estate tax, which has been completely repealed for 2010 — but only for this year. The tax is scheduled to come back to life on January 1, 2011 at a higher rate of 55% with the [...]

Welcome to the Summer 2010 Tax Foundation Interns!


We are in the process of welcoming our summer 2010 interns! While here, they will assist with research and data work along with many other miscellaneous tasks. Working closing with our team of economists and policy analysts, each will contribute substantively, to the blog and other written work.

Here’s a little bit about [...]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Uses Tax Foundation Data in Its New State Rankings


A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Enterprising States: Creating Jobs, Economic Development and Prosperity in Challenging Times, ranks the states using metrics from the following categories: Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Exports and International Trade, Infrastructure Investment, Workforce Development and Training, and Taxes and Regulation.

Two of the components of the [...]

Film Tax Credits Losing Their Appeal


The director of Michigan’s film promotion office is stepping down as evidence mounts that the state’s film tax credits are too generous and may stimulate much less economic activity than officials claim. Michigan’s 42% production credit is the highest nationwide, and in the most recent year, the state gave the industry $155 million in tax [...]

Maine Rejects Tax Reform Measure


Maine voters have rejected the income tax and sales tax reform by a wide margin. Business Week is reporting a 61% to 39% vote to pass the referendum, which asked, “Do you want to reject the new law that lowers Maine’s income tax and replaces that revenue by making changes to the sales tax?” 

As a [...]

Tax Foundation Legal Brief: Fairfax County Property Taxes for Metro Extension Violate Virginia Constitution


The Virginia Supreme Court should strike down two tax laws that impose discriminatory property taxes in Fairfax County to fund Metrorail expansion, according to a friend-of-the-court-brief we filed earlier this week.

The case involves the constitutionality of special property taxes in Fairfax County that exempt all residential property, which violate Virginia’s [...]