The Heartland Institute

The Social Security Act of 1935 established the federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) system, which pays benefits to workers who are laid off. Basic UI benefits are funded by payroll taxes on employers, but in recent years Congress has used general federal revenues to fund a range of extra benefits. With the recent recession ...

Tax-increment financing (TIF) is an increasingly popular way for cities to promote economic development. TIF works by allowing cities to use the property, sales, and other taxes collected from new developments — taxes that would otherwise go to schools, libraries, fire departments, and other urban services — to subsidize those ...

The proposal by California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to end tax increment financing (TIF) initiatives in that state signals a dramatic change in the fiscal landscape of a region with a long history of tax innovations, often with national repercussions. That was certainly true in the case of Proposition 13, and it was also true ...

In this paper I analyze the provision of unemployment insurance in an environment with unobservable job offers and unobservable employment status. Both rejection of suitable offers and unreported employment income represent unemployment insurance fraud. I analyze US data characterizing the prevalence of both types of fraud, and ...

The estate tax is the only wealth tax levied by the Federal government. It was enacted in 1916, and its scope was expanded to encompass gifts as well. It evolved over the years into the current Unified Transfer Tax which consists of the estate, gift, and generation skipping transfers taxes. The major features of the tax ...

This Comment evaluates four recent proposals to reform tax laws affecting the financial industry. After introducing the proposals, the author provides a theoretical framework for evaluating them and then relies on this framework to explore the benefits and drawbacks of each. Ultimately, the author rejects two proposals that call ...

Congestion pricing use has been limited in the United States because of political, institutional, and public acceptance concerns. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of Europe and Singapore ...

On April 21, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seek the public's input on the FCC's effort to replace the legacy high-cost universal service fund (USF) with a broadband "Connect America" fund (CAF). In effect, the FCC seeks to ...

States are increasingly looking to soda, candy, and other so-called “fat” taxes as a way to shore up their budgets. That’s happening despite a lack of evidence that these taxes have any significant effect on obesity rates, the usual rationale for these taxes. As happened previously with alcohol and tobacco, special-interest groups ...

Demographers predict that the US population will grow by one hundred million in 2050. Newcomers will settle in suburbia, particularly to the fast growing big cities of the south and west, cities in the resurgent heartland of the country, exurbia and ‘superstar cities’. Communities eager to appeal to these newcomers will use ...

The death tax: What does it kill? Who does it affect? It affects hundreds of thousands of small-business owners across the country—as well as their employees and community residents who benefit from the senior and day care centers, playgrounds, charities, and learning centers that are built or supported by small-business owners ...

2010 is the only year since 1916 in which heirs to an estate will not have to pay the dreaded death tax. Victory for small businesses? Not yet—due to a legal quirk, the death tax is scheduled to come back to life in 2011. Studies, statistics, and real life have shown again and again that the businesses and families burdened ...

This paper analyzes the flow of state pension benefit payments relative to asset levels and contributions. Assuming future state contributions fund the full present value of new benefits, many state systems will run out of money in 10-20 years if some attempt is not made to improve the funding of liabilities that have already ...

In December of 2009, two proposals for taxes on the purchase and sale of securities in U.S. financial markets were introduced in Congress, one by Rep. DeFazio and the other by Sen. Harkin. Supporters of these securities transaction taxes (“STTs”) assert that they are appropriate and necessary for five reasons: 1. An STT will ...

States report that their public-employee pensions are underfunded by a total of $438 billion, but a more accurate accounting demonstrates that they are actually underfunded by over $3 trillion. The accounting methods that states currently use to measure their liabilities assume plans can earn high investment without risk. Should ...

Smokers have become a favorite target of many legislators across the country. Some policymakers seem to think taxing smokers is a win-win way to curb smoking and raise revenue, without hurting the economy. In practice, however, these taxes create more budget problems than they solve. As the tobacco tax revenue stream falls ...

Lawmakers in at least eight states are considering raising income tax rates on a small percentage of top income-earners in order to shore up their state budgets. But this is a risky way of raising revenue, especially during a recession. Relying on such a small percentage of the population creates larger boom-and-bust periods ...

Lawmakers in at least eight states are considering raising income tax rates on a small percentage of top income-earners in order to shore up their state budgets. But this is a risky way of raising revenue, especially during a recession. Relying on such a small percentage of the population creates larger boom-and-bust periods ...

During the recent financial crisis, public-sector pension plans have seen large declines in the value of their investment portfolios. This has affected entities from school districts, to local governments, to state governments. Among the most deeply affected in dollar terms was the California Public Employees' Retirement System ...

More than 20 states are considering “sin taxes”—such as excise taxes on tobacco, beer, and spirits—in order to shore up their budget deficits. But such taxes are badly flawed and likely to do far more harm than good to a state’s economy. Sound tax policy adheres to four principles: * Taxes should be applied to a broad base ...