Press: 2010
CNN (October 27, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about tax breaks. “[Tax breaks] are styled as tax savings, but really function as replacements for explicit government spending. Some make sense, but a great many are poorly targeted and would never pass Congress if presented as an outright spending proposal,” Kleinbard wrote in an article this summer called, “Sacred Cows: It’s Them or Us.”
CNN (September 26, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about how Congress often makes last-minute tax decisions.
Bloomberg News (September 24, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about Republican leaders’ definition of small business in relation to President Obama’s tax increase proposal on certain businesses.
Bloomberg News (September 24, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about Republican leaders’ definition of small business in relation to President Obama’s tax increase proposal on certain businesses.
New York Post (September 23, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about IBM possibly selling stakes in overseas units if President Obama goes ahead with a plan to end tax deductions linked to foreign profits.
Bloomberg News (September 20, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about Republican leaders’ definition of small business in relation to President Obama’s tax-increase proposal on certain businesses.
The New York Times (September 11, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about government tax expenditures. Kleinbard, former chief of staff of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, said the reliance on tax expenditures had distorted the budget process because it induced the public to overlook the fact that — unless they are accompanied by spending reductions — tax cuts have the same effect on the deficit as additional spending. It also allows politicians to make unsubstantiated claims about the power of tax-cutting to accomplish other economic goals, he said. “The thought that tax cuts pay for themselves or that tax cuts alone can turn around this economy is magical thinking,” said Kleinbard. “The debate has become so unrealistic it makes you want to scream.”
The New York Times (September 11, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about government tax expenditures. Kleinbard, former chief of staff of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, said the reliance on tax expenditures had distorted the budget process because it induced the public to overlook the fact that — unless they are accompanied by spending reductions — tax cuts have the same effect on the deficit as additional spending. It also allows politicians to make unsubstantiated claims about the power of tax-cutting to accomplish other economic goals, he said. “The thought that tax cuts pay for themselves or that tax cuts alone can turn around this economy is magical thinking,” said Kleinbard. “The debate has become so unrealistic it makes you want to scream.”
Bloomberg News (September 9, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about President Obama’s proposal to let companies deduct the full cost of capital investments in the year the expenditures are made.
Bloomberg News (September 8, 2010)
Edward Kleinbard was quoted about President Obama’s proposal to let companies deduct the full cost of capital investments in the year the expenditures are made.
Huffington Post (August 19, 2010)
An op-ed by Prof. Edward Kleinbard was published about government tax expenditures. “Today the government spends more through tax expenditures than it collects from the personal income tax, and spends twice as much through the Tax Code as it does through explicit discretionary spending programs. Unlike explicit spending, tax expenditures show up in the budget process simply as reduced tax revenues. In reality the tax revenues are there, borne by taxpayers not eligible for the subsidy, and spent on those who do qualify. It’s as if the government actually collected roughly twice as much in personal income taxes as it actually does, but then spent all those extra revenues on programs that today are invisible as a matter of budget presentation or debate,” Kleinbard wrote.
The Washington Post (August 8, 2010)
A story quoted Prof. Edward Kleinbard about how the U.S. tax code encourages companies to rack up debt. The CBO calculated the effect and found that across corporate America companies on average face an effective tax rate of negative 6.4 percent on investments financed with debt. That means, in essence, that Washington is actually paying firms for borrowing money, Kleinbard said. “The government is writing you a check to buy that greasy machinery,” he said.
CNN (June 29, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about capping tax expenditures to reduce the federal deficit. The government does without roughly a trillion dollars a year because of tax breaks — everything from the mortgage-interest deduction, to education and child credits, to low rates on investments. Those breaks can translate into higher tax rates and a federal budget that is much bigger than advertised, according to Kleinbard.
Reuters (April 2, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was quoted about a tax change resulting from the new health care legislation.
KPCC-FM (March 26, 2010)
Patt Morrison interviewed Edward Kleinbard about American multinational corporations that pay little or no federal taxes. General Electric to pay no federal income taxes despite its reported $14.2 billion in profits, $5.1 billion of which was made on American soil. Kleinbard was also interview on KGO-Radio (San Francisco) about the same topic.
CNN (March 5, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about government tax breaks.
CNN (March 5, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was interviewed about government tax breaks. Even though tax breaks lower the tax bite for eligible individuals and corporations, they end up raising taxes on others. “Targeted tax relief is just another name for government spending, in which taxes extracted from those of us who are not targeted fund hidden spending on those who are,” said Kleinbard.
Forbes (February 25, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was quoted about tax expenditures. “It’s basically telling people to beg, borrow or steal to buy a home, and that’s exactly what they’ve done,” Kleinbard said of housing-related tax incentives.
Tax Notes (February 22, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard wrote a letter to the editor in response to an article on whether Congress should abolish the Joint Committee on Taxation.
MarketWatch (February 18, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was quoted about international tax credits for corporations. “Usually the government does a good job of starting with cases that are very weak for the taxpayer, and developing law,” Kleinbard said.
Congressional Quarterly (February 2, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was quoted about federal tax code.
Bloomberg News (January 12, 2010)
Prof. Edward Kleinbard was quoted about President Obama’s plans to raise as much as $120 billion through fees on financial institutions, to help recoup losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and reduce the deficit. “Any new tax is always more complicated than the designers anticipated,” Kleinbard said. “When the numbers involved are this large, it’s very difficult to design on the fly. There’s always a substantial risk of unintended consequences and the risk of simple ineffectiveness.”