A Congressional conference committee, chaired by House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, is scheduled to meet late on October 4 to finalize a package ... Read more
In recent weeks, a number of newspapers have reported on growing discontent among conservatives who charge that federal spending in general — and domestic spending ... Read more
The President recently signed the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004. Debate over this legislation has been accompanied by charges that appropriations in general ... Read more
In his State of the Union address, the President announced his intention to propose to make permanent a range of tax cuts that are scheduled ... Read more
Key Findings: In 2004, as a share of the economy: Federal revenues will fall to their lowest level since 1950, during the Truman Administration. Federal spending will be lower than in every year from 1975 through 1996 (and thus will be lower than throughout the administrations of Presidents Carter and Reagan and the first President Bush). In explaining the shift from a large surplus in 2000 to a large deficit in 2004, the drop in revenues since 2000 accounts for more than three times as much of the fiscal deterioration as the increase in expenditures. Read more
Summary A weak economy, new tax breaks, and aggressive tax sheltering have pushed corporate income tax receipts down to historically low levels, both relative to ... Read more
