Barack Obama gave four speeches last night. The first was the same optimistic cry for change that has carried him so far in this Presidential season. The second was a tough, frontal attack on the economic and foreign policies of both George Bush and John McCain. The third was a (Bill) Clintonesque bit of social policy triangulation—we can all work together to find solutions to such hot button issues as abortion, guns, gay marriage, and immigration. The fourth was a recitation of his economic agenda—a long list of promises that is familiar to readers of TaxVox by now.   more »

Barack Obama has raised the ante on economic stimulus. Just two weeks ago, when I left for vacation, the Illinois Senator was talking about a $50 billion plan. I barely unpack (and yes, I had a nice time, thanks for asking) and learn he is now considering a $115 billion boost. That, at least, is what an Obama aide told the Wall Street Journal yesterday.    more »

After the Government Accountability Office reported last month that two-thirds of corporations in the U.S. pay no corporate income tax, critics vented their disdain. "It's shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country," railed Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) in a press release.   more »

Five years ago, gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger made this lament about Californians' tax burden: "From the time they get up in the morning and flush the toilet, they're taxed. When they go and get a coffee, they're taxed. They get into their car, they're taxed. They go to the gas station, they're taxed. They go for lunch, they're taxed. This goes on all day long. Tax, tax, tax, tax, tax. Even when they go to bed, you can go to bed in fear that you are going to be taxed while you're sleeping, that there is a sleeping tax."    more »

The Government Accountability Office last week released a report with the scintillating title: "Comparison of the Reported Tax Liabilities of Foreign- and U.S.-Controlled Corporations, 1998-2005." Summarizing, GAO stated that in 2005 Foreign Controlled Domestic Corporations (FCDCs) reported a lower ratio of tax liabilities to gross receipts and total assets than did U.S.-Controlled Domestic Corporations (USCCs). At play could be abusive transfer pricing transactions. But, GAO also pointed out, FCDCs and USCCs differ by age, size, and industry composition and the agency "did not attempt to determine the extent to which these factors and others, such as transfer pricing abuse, explain differences in tax liabilities."    more »

When the Tax Policy Center reported last month that Senators Obama's and McCain's tax proposals would both reduce federal revenues by trillions of dollars over the coming decade, both campaigns complained that TPC was using the wrong baseline to measure revenue changes. Instead of measuring revenue against current law, they asserted, analysts should assess the plans against "current policy." In fact, the choice of baselines is in some sense irrelevant as a gauge of our fiscal problems.    more »

Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center and other tax experts frequently bemoan the horrendous complexity of the AMT and its potential to trap unwary taxpayers. But until now, we have not had data on how many taxpayer errors the AMT causes.   more »

The thing about a donut hole is that it is empty. There is nothing. And that, it seems, is what is left of Barack Obama's plan to fix Social Security. The Obama people now tell us that his proposal, which is built on a tax hike for those earning more than $250,000, won't take effect until at least 2018. You heard right: 2018.    more »

After I posted a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that, if he is elected president, Barack Obama should hire Doug Holz-Eakin to be his budget director, self-styled progressives have gone nuts. The Obamaites are up-in-arms because Holtz-Eakin happens to be John McCain's chief economic adviser. Could I have struck a nerve?    more »

If Barack Obama gets elected President, the first thing he should do is hire Doug Holtz-Eakin to be his budget director. A highly-respected non-partisan budget wonk, who is leaning Obama’s way in the election, threw out this seemingly crazy idea at lunch the other day. And the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.    more »

Unlike other credits, the new one is really a 15 year interest-free loan. Qualifying buyers will get a refundable credit of the smaller of 10 percent of their purchase price or $7,500 for homes bought between April 2008 and June 30, 2009. Because they don’t get the credit until they file a tax return—and not when they buy the house—it’s unclear how much the cash windfall will help with down payments—which presumably was the whole idea. And interest-free doesn’t mean free: they must pay the money back to the government over 15 years.    more »