Taxes

Two Symbolic Tax Reform Plans from Obama and Romney

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney laid out competing frameworks for tax reform on Wednesday, competing to lay down political markers on a policy issue both parties where both parties want reform but where there is little chance to achieve Congressional compromise anytime soon. 

Mitt Romney Releases Tax Returns, Paid Lower Taxes

Brian Blanco / EPA

Pop quiz. How are these three facts related? –Warren Buffett’s secretary will sit nearby Michelle Obama at tonight’s State of The Union Address. –Oscar nominations were announced at 5:30 a.m. PST Tuesday. –Mitt Romney has released more than 500 pages of his tax returns. Stumped? The answer:

Romney Relents, Will Release Tax Records

After days of mounting pressure and a stinging loss to Newt Gingrich in South Carolina on Saturday night, Mitt Romney announced Sunday morning that he’ll be releasing his 2010 tax records and a estimate of 2011 figures for public scrutiny on Tuesday.

Newt Gingrich Would Eliminate Federal Income Tax for Mitt Romney

Matt Rourke / AP

The tax proposals of Newt Gingrich could yield a windfall in tax savings, both for himself and his primary opponent, Mitt Romney, if they were enacted into law, according to a new analysis by the liberal group Citizens For Tax Justice.

Why Mitt Romney’s Tax Rate Matters

Christopher Morris / VII / For Time

Mitt Romney stammered on Monday night when debate moderators asked him whether he’d release his tax returns.  “I hadn’t planned on releasing tax records, because the law requires us to release all of our assets, all the things we own. That I have already released. It’s a pretty full disclosure,” he said. “But, you know, [...]

Warren Buffett Ready to Take Republicans’ Tax Challenge

Mark Seliger for TIME

Updated, 6:10 p.m. E.T. Warren Buffett is ready to call Republicans’ tax bluff. Last fall, Senator Mitch McConnell said that if Buffett were feeling “guilty” about paying too little in taxes, he should “send in a check.” The jab was in response to Buffett’s August 2011 New York Times op-ed, which made hay of the [...]

Amid Supercommittee Wrangling, Tax Reform Gains Momentum

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Whether or not Congress’s deficit supercommittee succeeds in finding $1.2 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving, one likely result is that sometime in the next 18 months, Congress will tackle tax reform.

The Conservative Problem with 9-9-9

The 9-9-9 tax plan is not an insignificant part of Herman Cain’s appeal among Republicans–everyone knows the tax code is maddeningly complex and telling people they’re three little digits away from having their problems solved is bewitching. The main knock on the plan is that it would redistribute the tax burden so that it falls [...]

GOP Reacts Cautiously to Democratic Millionaires’ Tax Plan

Democrats think they’ve found a great campaign issue for the 2012 elections—raising taxes on millionaires. And to judge by Republicans’ reactions, they may be right. “We agree with what the President said,” says Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “You shouldn’t be raising taxes in a weak economy.” That neatly sums up [...]

Obama’s Tax on the Big Bad Banks

As the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee’s advocates and enemies will both tell you, the measure is designed to do more than just force Wall Street to settle up with John Q. Public. And with its inclusion in Obama’s newly unveiled populist deficit reduction plan, it’s a good time to revisit why.