In an April 17 interview, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan endorsed allowing all the Bush tax cuts to expire on schedule next year.
An April 15 Gallup poll found that by about a two-to-one margin, people oppose eliminating the deductions for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, or charitable contributions either to reduce tax rates or for deficit reduction. The results were about the same regardless of party affiliation.
An April 15 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argued in favor of scaling back tax expenditures for budgetary, efficiency, and distributional reasons.
An April 14 Gallup poll asked people their opinion of income redistribution. Views differ greatly depending on income levels and party affiliation.
Also on April 14, an Associated Press poll found that 54 percent of people view their taxes as fair; 46 percent say they are unfair.
And on April 14, a Fox News poll found that 43 percent of people pay more than their fair share of taxes; 52 percent believe what they pay is fair. Only 3 percent of people say they pay less than their fair share.
On April 14, the Business Roundtable published a study on global effective tax rates.
On April 14, journalist David Cay Johnston published an extensive review of facts about the tax system that are generally unknown.
In an April 13 commentary, University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan examined the extent to which members of different professions cheat on their taxes.
Also on April 13, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on tax reform.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
