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As if filing federal tax returns weren’t already confusing enough, some lawmakers are considering retroactive changes in the tax code that would apply to 2018. This means some taxpayers may need to delay preparing and submitting their returns -- and…

WASHINGTON -- The Concord Coalition expressed deep concern today over new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections that show federal deficits and debt rising rapidly despite healthy growth in the economy and an historically low unemployment rate. Over 10 years, the…

Even as lawmakers and President Trump continued to argue over spending plans for the current fiscal year, the federal deficit grew in the first quarter of the year by $317 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).…

Up until a few days ago it seemed that President Trump was looking to exit the partial government shutdown by redirecting funds for a Mexican border wall through an emergency declaration. As he approached this exit, however, he found that…

WASHINGTON -- With a partial shutdown of the federal government apparently taking effect at midnight, Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby issued the following statement: This is absurd. Government shutdowns have become “regular order.” Apparently, no policy or dollar…

The federal government’s chief health care actuaries have released their wrap-up of 2017 National Health Expenditures, showing that health care spending remained nearly the same percentage of the economy as in 2016: 17.9 percent. The actuaries saw 2017 as a…

Recent reports on U.S. defense spending have raised questions about whether it is too much or too little, as discussed in a recent blog post. In response to a reader’s suggestion, we are presenting some information on how what the…

A last-minute Republican plan to extend certain tax breaks and create some new ones appears to face dim prospects this month. Time is running short for the lame-duck Congress, and a scheduled House vote was postponed on Friday. Senate passage…