Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Tax Policy

So Many Subsidies for Big Oil, So Little Political Will to End Them

By Tanya Snyder | May 13, 2011 | 4 Comments

Lisa Margonelli, director of the New America Foundation’s Energy Productivity Initiative, hit the nail on the head on the problem with Congressional action on oil subsidies. Yesterday, she wrote in Politico that ending Exxon’s unjustifiable tax breaks would be nice, but there are far more egregious examples of U.S. government handouts to big oil: Really, […]

How Would Blumenauer’s New Commuter Benefit Proposal Work?

By Tanya Snyder | May 11, 2011 | 21 Comments

If you drive to work, you can get a $230 monthly parking benefit, subsidized by the federal government and paid through your employer. If you take transit, right now you can get up to $230 per month, but the cap may revert to $120 when the current transit benefit law expires this fall. And if you […]

Republicans Still Swear Drill, Baby, Drill Is the Best Way to Lower Gas Prices

By Tanya Snyder | May 4, 2011 | 4 Comments

Democrats and Republicans are jockeying for the title of Gas Price Slasher, though neither party has a plan that has any potential to reduce prices. While Democrats propose cutting oil company subsidies, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) has introduced three bills to expand oil drilling, saying that they’ll spur employment in the Gulf and reduce U.S. […]

Transit Riders Keep Same Tax Benefits As Drivers

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 17, 2010 | 2 Comments

President Obama is about to sign the controversial tax-cut compromise into law, now that the House and Senate have both voted in favor of the bill. That means the transit benefit extension, hidden inside the $858 billion package, will become law as well. Nearly four years ago, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced a measure to […]

Transit Benefit (Wrapped in Tax Cuts) Clears the Senate

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 15, 2010 | No Comments

The Senate voted 81-19 to support President Obama’s plan to extend the Bush tax cuts this afternoon. Some of those Senators probably didn’t even realize that they were also voting to extend equal tax benefits for transit commuters, on par with parking credits. One Senator was certainly aware. Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey told […]

Inside the Bush Tax Cut Compromise is a Gift for Transit Riders

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 14, 2010 | 11 Comments

No matter how you feel about extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, there’s one reason to hope it passes: it includes an extension of the transit benefit. The tax-free benefit for transit used to be capped at $120 a month, but the stimulus raised it to $230, on par with driving benefits. Ya-Ting […]

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