Taxation Update: March 1999

Surplus Resurrects Talk of Tax Cuts in 106th

The first session of the 106th Congress has begun. With changes in the House Republican leadership now in place, and the hope that the impeachment trial of President Clinton may have a short life, House and Senate members on both sides of the aisle seem eager to focus on the issues, including some unresolved issues from the 105th Congress such as how to save Social Security and whether to spend the remaining surplus on government programs or to provide a tax cut.

Mr. Clinton's proposal for shoring up Social Security was the lead item in the domestic agenda he spelled out in his State of the Union address in January. He would allocate about 62 percent of the expected budget surplus over the next 15 years to insure the viability of the system.....

Capital Gains/Reforestation Legislation to be Introduced

The Reforestation Tax Act is expected to be reintroduced by Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) in the early days of the 106th Congress. This legislation is familiar to many private timberland owners and would effectively lower the capital gains tax rate for individual taxpayers and for those individuals.....

Joint Economic Committee Releases Estate Tax Legislation

The federal estate tax generates costs to taxpayers, the economy, and the environment that far exceed any potential benefits that it might arguably produce, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released December 7, 1998.....

Institute for Policy Innovation Releases Study

The Case for Burying the Estate Tax, the recently released study from the Institute for Policy Innovation, concluded that estate tax compliance costs are almost as high as the revenue it raises. The study also concluded that the high marginal estate tax rates often force heirs to sell family farms and businesses to pay the tax, while generating less than 1 percent of federal revenues.....

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