If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.
Alabama鈥檚 budget: Is the third time the charm?聽The state鈥檚 legislature began its second聽 special session of the year last night, and will聽聽to pass a budget. Alabama鈥檚 general fund faces a $200 million shortfall next year and GOP Governor Robert Bentley has proposed $260 million in tax increases to close it. But the legislature twice rejected them. Now, he wants to eliminate the state income tax deduction for FICA payroll taxes, and raise the聽 state鈥檚 cigarette tax and the business privilege tax. Some state state lawmakers may offer a lottery instead.
Back at Brookings: Peter Orszag.聽After heading聽 the Congressional Budget Office and the聽 Office of Management and Budget,聽聽to the Brookings Institution economic studies program as a nonresident senior fellow. During his first stint at Brookings, Orszag was the deputy director of economic studies and ran The Hamilton Project. He also directed the Retirement Security Project and was a co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
The tax plans are coming! The tax plans are coming!聽GOP candidate聽聽releases his today, and聽鈥檚聽 top economic adviser, George Mason University professor Thomas Rustici, is touting a complete tax overhaul (though it鈥檚 not clear if Carson will sign on). No details on聽聽yet, but聽聽thinks Trump should run as a Democrat. Given all the upcoming plans,聽叠濒辞辞尘产别谤驳听蝉丑辞飞蝉听compare. Said TPC鈥檚 Eric Toder, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole lot of assumptions about behavior that you have to make鈥� in any model. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a matter of simple mechanics of savings and聽investment鈥� It鈥檚 important to exercise extreme caution so that people don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e trying to play favorites or play sides, because we鈥檙e not.鈥�
It鈥檚 Must-See-TV season again鈥β�Assuming you follow tax news amid presidential politics, of course. TPC鈥檚 Howard聽聽key tax stories to watch this fall: international tax reform; the Highway Trust Fund, the tax extenders; presidential tax plans (see above); and the IRS budget. 鈥淜eep in mind,鈥� he concludes, 鈥渁ll of this will happen in what is likely to be an increasingly toxic fiscal environment.鈥� Will we have another government shut down? Will tax policy get the attention it deserves? Stay tuned鈥�
Living together with kids: Does it pay to get married?聽Tax wise, it depends on your earnings. A聽聽by Elaine Maag and Greg Acs examines the size of marriage penalties and bonuses that low- and moderate-income cohabiting couples with children would face if they got hitched. Elaine and Greg find that federal tax laws can create marriage penalties that reach almost 10 percent of earnings for couples earning $40,000 or $50,000 a year. But a couple earning $20,000 a year could receive a marriage bonus in excess of 10 percent of earnings.
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