On most fiscal policy issues that come up in Washington, there is disagreement among reserach organizations regarding what is good or bad taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. policy. But on the recent housing bill that passed the U.S. Senate and gave billions in more tax breaks for housing, the tax policy research community is in unanimous agreement.
Researchers from the following organizations have stated that this bill is bad tax policy: Heritage Foundation, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Cato Institute, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Tax Foundation, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
To put this diverse group in perspective, imagine if Ted Kennedy, George Bush, Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Ralph Nader, Barack Obama, and Sam Brownback all agreed that a given bill was not good public policy.
Unfortunately, it appears as if the lobbyists putting money in the coffers of the politicians are currently the ones winning instead of sound fiscal policy principles.
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