Reports by Chuck Marr
Results per page: 50 | 100
Results by year: 2009
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House Health Bill’s High-Income Surcharge is Sound and Well Targeted
Updated November 20, 2009
A 5.4 percent surcharge on couples with incomes over $1 million, a key financing feature of the House health reform bill, is sound and well targeted. It would affect just a fraction of 1 percent of taxpayers, a group whose incomes have soared and tax burdens have fallen in recent years, and would have only a modest impact on small businesses. … -
Senate Health Reform Bill Is Fiscally Responsible
November 19, 2009
The health reform bill that Senate leaders unveiled yesterday meets two rigorous fiscal tests: it reduces deficits over the next decade and beyond, and it puts long-term downward pressure on health care costs. The bill would reduce deficits by an estimated $130 billion over the 2010-2019 period and by about one-quarter of one percent of GDP in the decade … -
Berkley Estate Tax Bill Would Add Billions to Deficit While Benefiting Only Wealthiest 1 in 500 Estates
Revised November 9, 2009
A new estate tax bill introduced by Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and others would cost $91 billion more over the first decade (2012-2021) than extending the tax under its current rules as the President has proposed, yet would benefit only the nation’s wealthiest 0.2 percent of estates since they are the only ones … -
Senate Finance Committee Health Reform Bill Is Fiscally Responsible
Revised October 13, 2009
A fundamental principle of the bill that the Senate Finance Committee approved today is that it is budget neutral — that is, its costs are fully offset. It pays for the costs of expanding health coverage to the uninsured by redirecting spending and tax subsidies from less productive uses elsewhere in the health sector. Several of the offsets are … -
Tax Offsets in Baucus Health Plan Are Sound But Can Be Improved
September 18, 2009
The health reform proposal by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus would place a 35-percent excise tax on the value of health plans in excess of $8,000 for singles and $21,000 for families, starting in 2013; these thresholds would be indexed for inflation in later years. The excise tax is a sound way to help pay for health reform, but it … -
House Health Bill’s High-Income Surcharge: A Reasonable Approach
Revised July 30, 2009
Reforming the health care system to provide universal health coverage is an urgent priority. But, facing huge projected budget deficits that have the nation on an unsustainable fiscal path, the White House and Congress must enact a health reform plan that is also fully financed and that reduces the growth rate of health care … -
Reports Calling for Estate Tax Repeal Seriously Flawed
July 7, 2009
Despite questionable reports to the contrary, repealing the estate tax would weaken the economy by adding nearly $800 billion to budget deficits over 10 years, thus reducing national saving and leaving fewer funds for investment that leads to higher productivity in the long run. Two recent reports from the American Family Business … -
Maintaining Current Value of Itemized Deductions For High-Income Taxpayers Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
June 10, 2009
If Congress rejects the President’s proposal to help pay for health care reform by limiting the value of itemized deductions for high-income filers, it should at least prevent those subsidies from expanding in 2011, as they would under current law. Simply keeping the value of itemized deductions for filers in the top two brackets at … -
Curbing Flexible Spending Accounts Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
Revised June 10, 2009
Congress should consider scaling back or eliminating health care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) [1] as part of its effort to pay for health care reform. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health reform, outlines several ways in which Congress could curtail FSAs. FSAs are designed to allow employees to pay … -
Taxing High-Sugar Soft Drinks Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
May 27, 2009
By establishing a tax on high-sugar soft drinks, Congress could help finance health care reform that extends health insurance to all Americans and slows the growth of health care costs, while also improving Americans’ health. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health … -
Reversing the Erosion in Alcohol Taxes Could Help Pay for Health Care Reform
May 27, 2009
To help pay for health care legislation that extends health insurance to all Americans and slows the growth of health care costs, Congress should consider reversing the substantial real decline in recent decades in federal excise taxes on alcohol. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health reform, outlines three options … -
Statement: Chuck Marr, Director of Federal Tax Policy, on the Administration’s International Tax Proposal
May 4, 2009
The Administration’s proposal is a welcome step forward in tax policy because it would make the tax code more balanced, support research and development, and promote fiscal responsibility. Specifically, it would tighten lax international tax rules and … -
Lincoln-Kyl Estate Tax Amendment is Both Unnecessary and Unaffordable
Revised April 10, 2009
On April 2 the Senate narrowly adopted (by a 51-48 vote) an amendment to the budget resolution by Senators Blanche Lincoln and Jon Kyl that would substantially weaken the estate tax. This proposal is both fiscally irresponsible — it would pave the way for a significant increase in … -
Two Key Tests for House and Senate Action on Congressional Budget Resolution
March 31, 2009
As Congress prepares a budget resolution for fiscal year 2010, it should apply two key tests to any proposed change in the plans approved by the House and Senate Budget Committees: Would the proposal support economic recovery in the near term? Would … -
History Contradicts Claim That President’s Budget Would Harm Small Business Job Creation
March 26, 2009
Critics have claimed that President Obama’s proposal to roll back tax cuts for families with incomes above $250,000 would kill job growth in the small business sector. But under the Clinton Administration, when the tax treatment of high-income families was very similar to what President Obama has proposed, small businesses … -
High-Income Households Would Face Lower Tax Burden under Obama Budget than In Clinton Years, When Economy Performed Well
March 26, 2009
Despite claims that President Obama would impose a massive, damaging tax increase on wealthy Americans, the top 1 percent of Americans would actually pay a slightly smaller share of their income in federal taxes under the President’s proposals than during the Clinton Administration, when the economy grew strongly. Specifically, the top …
