Explainer Videos

Explainer: Bush Tax Cut Extensions, Part II
Roberton Williams
February 02, 2011    |   7:45

In a second video on the Bush tax-cut extensions, Roberton Williams examines and explains what the tax-cut compromise means for taxpayers. He discusses everything from the subtraction of the "Making Work Pay" tax credit, to the reduction of the payroll tax, to the patching of the alternative minimum tax. Williams also discusses who benefits from these changes and who might find themselves owing more taxes than they did before the deal was struck.

Explainer: Extending the Bush Tax Cuts
Roberton Williams
September 07, 2010    |    7:12

Roberton Williams, Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, discusses the policy options related to the expiring Bush tax cuts, how those options would affect the various taxpayers, and how they would relate to the budget deficit.

How does reduced war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan affect the budget deficit?
Roberton Williams
August 28, 2010    |    3:28

Roberton Williams, Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, talks about how recent troop reductions in the Middle East, and war spending overall, impacts the nation's growing budget deficit.

The Carried Interest Loophole Explainer
Howard Gleckman
June 30, 2010    |    4:31

Howard Gleckman, the editor of the Tax Policy Center's TaxVox, explains what the term carried interest means, how those who earn it currently benefit from a tax loophole, and what the Congress is preparing to do about it.

Budget Resolution Explainer
Rudolph G. Penner
May 21, 2010    |   5:21

What is a budget resolution and why does the U.S. Congress try to pass one every year when it doesn't produce any binding language? Urban Institute Fellow Rudolph G. Penner, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, explains what a budget resolution was designed to do, how it came to be, how it is connected to the Watergate scandal, and what it means when Congress doesn't pass one.

VAT Explained
Leonard E. Burman, Rachel M. Johnson
June 17, 2009    |    8:22

An informal chat with former Tax Policy Center Director Len Burman. What is VAT (Value Added Tax) and how can it help solve some of our nation's financial dilemmas?