2017’s fiscal outlook is unpromising (William G. Gale, Aaron Krupkin, Brookings)

https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2017s-fiscal-outlook-is-unpromising/

Major tax issues in 2016 (William G. Gale, Aaron Krupkin, Brookings)

The federal tax system is beset with problems: It does not raise sufficient revenue to finance government spending; it is complex; it creates outcomes that are unfair; and it retards economic efficiency. In this essay, we discuss several ways to improve taxes including creating a value-added tax, increasing environmental taxes, reforming the corporate tax, treating low- and middle- income earners equitably and efficiently, and ensuring appropriate taxation of high-income households. Although the politics are a major barrier to reform, the next president’s legacy may well be determined by how well he or she handles tax policy.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/major-tax-issues-in-2016-2/

Financing state and local pension obligations: Issues and options (William G. Gale, Aaron Krupkin, Brookings)

Many states and municipalities are struggling to fund defined benefit pension plans for their employees. Between 2009 and 2013, in order to improve their pension status, almost every state implemented some combination of lower benefit accruals and higher employer or employee contributions. Numerous cities made changes as well for similar reasons.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/07/19-financing-state-and-local-pension-obligations-issues-and-options-gale

No, value-added taxes are not bad for small business (William G. Gale, Brookings)

Value-added taxes (VATs) have been attracting growing attention in the United States. GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz has proposed a VAT as part of a sweeping tax reform plan. The idea has also been backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and others.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2016/04/26-value-added-taxes-are-not-bad-for-small-business-gale

Policy design and management issues for state retirement saving plans (William G. Gale, David C. John, Brookings)

Many American workers do not have access to employer-sponsored payroll deduction plans for retirement saving. Groups with low rates of access include younger workers, members of minority groups, and those with low-to-moderate incomes. Small business employees are especially at risk. Only about 14 percent of businesses with 100 or fewer employees offer their employees a retirement plan, leaving between 51 and 71 percent of the roughly 42 million people who work for a small business without access to an employer-administered plan (Government Accountability Office 2013).

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/18-policy-design-management-issues-state-retirement-saving-gale

Entrepreneurship and small business under a value-added tax (William G. Gale, Hilary Gelfond, Aaron Krupkin, Brookings)

The possibility of introducing a value-added tax (VAT) in the United States has been discussed on a sporadic basis for several decades. In recent years, efforts to implement a VAT have been spurred by a desire to replace the revenue lost from reducing and simplifying the income tax (for example, Graetz 2010; Toder, Nunns, and Rosenberg 2012) and/or a desire to shore up the nation’s long-term fiscal situation (Debt Reduction Task Force 2010; Gale and Harris 2011).

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/16-entrepreneurship-small-business-under-value-added-tax-gale

Taxes on the rich may change a lot in 2017 (William G. Gale, Aaron Krupkin, Brookings)

It’s good to be rich. Depending on who becomes the next president, it could get a lot better or a lot worse. Thanks to our colleagues at the Tax Policy Center, we have a clearer picture of how the tax code would look if different presidential candidates win the election and convince Congress to enact their plan. The Democratic candidates would increase revenue and make the system more progressive; the Republicans would cut revenue and make the system more regressive. These differences are especially stark for very high-income households.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2016/03/16-taxes-on-the-rich-may-change-a-lot-in-2017-gale

You get what you pay for: Guaranteed returns in retirement saving accounts (William G. Gale, David C. John, Bryan Kim, Brookings)

The sharp downturn in the value of financial assets between 2007 and 2009 serves as a pointed example of how risky assets can quickly lose significant value. This experience, coupled with continuing concerns about retirement security, has generated new interest in the idea of having the government provide minimum rate-of-return guarantees for retirement savings accounts.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/03/14-guaranteed-returns-in-retirement-saving-accounts-gale

Financial transaction taxes in theory and practice (Leonard E. Burman, William G. Gale, Sarah Gault, Bryan Kim, Jim Nunns, Steve Rosenthal, Brookings)

The Great Recession, which was triggered by financial market failures, has prompted renewed calls for a financial transaction tax (FTT) to discourage excessive risk taking and recoup the costs of the crisis. The chorus of FTT advocates includes Bill Gates, Jr., George Soros, and Pope Benedict XVI (Greenhouse and Bowley, 2011). The idea is not new, however. Keynes proposed a FTT in 1936 as a way to discourage the kind of speculation that fueled the stock market bubble that led to the Great Depression. More recently, leading economists Tobin (1978), Stiglitz (1989), and Summers and Summers (1989) have advocated similar taxes.

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/02/29-financial-transaction-taxes-theory-practice-gale

Once more unto the breach: The deteriorating fiscal outlook (Alan J. Auerbach, William G. Gale, Brookings)

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2016/02/22-deteriorating-fiscal-outlook-auerbach-gale

The fiscal problem: Gone today, here tomorrow (Brookings)

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2015/09/09-fiscal-problem-gone-today-here-tomorrow-auerbach-gale