Budget

The housing and subprime-mortgage crisis stands to cost minority homeowners 40 percent more of their wealth than white homeowners in similar circumstances, an advocacy group says. The Columbus Dispatch. November 13, 2008

The movement against the bailout proved that people have power to change the rules of our economy. But we also learned that a spontaneous, reactive, one-time campaign is not very effective. Time to start building for the long-term. Updated.
November 13, 2008

UFE member Michael Beer wrote an article that focuses on the differences between the tax policies of the two main presidential candidates. Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC. August 6, 2008

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) reports that over half of the 50 states anticipate budget problems in the fiscal year 2009. The combined budget shortfall could be over $37 billion. To the extent that new taxes will be needed, there are major opportunities to make them progressive. From UFE's March 2008 E-News. March 31, 2008

Expanding the Sales Tax to Services

While all states with sales taxes tax goods (i.e., furniture, computers, cars, etc), only a few impose the sales tax on services - of which there are over 100 potentially-taxable categories (i.e., car repairs, exterminators, architecture, etc.).

Expanding the sales tax to services would not only raise substantial new revenue, but would make state tax systems more fair, more stable, easier to administer and more economically neutral.

October 2, 2007

At UFE, tax work takes one of two main forms.

Federal Taxes

UFE's flagship issue is the campaign to preserve the federal estate tax, begun in 1995. The estate tax provides a concrete issue in which our members and constituencies can easily become involved. Working on the estate tax helps educate people about the value of progressive taxation, existing economic inequality, and the role of wealth.

July 20, 2007