Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy
Michigan Agenda
- Tax policy should be fair to working families and set the conditions for economic growth.
- Reducing the federal deficit will mean ending unaffordable tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
- A fair tax system would eliminate loopholes and close abusive tax shelters that allow some to avoid the taxes they owe.
Careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars is one of my most important duties, and so is ensuring that the burden of federal taxes is fairly shared. That means ensuring federal dollars are spent wisely and that tax policy promotes economic opportunity for all Americans.
Like most Americans, I’m concerned about federal budget deficits. Independent analysts such as the Congressional Budget Office have demonstrated that the policy decision that contributed most to our deficits are the Bush-era tax cuts – tax cuts that were skewed toward the wealthiest Americans. Congress missed an opportunity in 2010 when it extended all the Bush tax cuts for two years, including those for the wealthiest. Ending those tax cuts for the wealthy is important for fairness and to reduce our deficit.
Since coming to Congress, I have worked to ensure that taxes are levied fairly. That means closing loopholes and ending abusive tax shelters that allow some taxpayers to dodge paying the taxes they owe. As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I have led probes of abusive offshore tax shelters that rob the Treasury of funding, and I support ongoing efforts by the Treasury Department and others to end these abuses. I oppose polices that reward companies with tax breaks when they move jobs overseas. I have introduced and continue to fight for legislation that stops companies from lowering their tax bills by claiming larger tax deductions for the stock options they grant to their executives than the stock option expenses they show on their books. And I support legislation to close the tax loophole that allows wealthy hedge fund managers to pay lower tax rates on their income.
Senator Levin’s Record on Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy
- Feb. 7, 2012 – Sens. Levin, Conrad introduce CUT Loopholes Act
Sen. Levin and Sen. Kent Conrad introduce the Cut Unjustified Tax Loopholes Act, which would close a number of tax loopholes that increase the deficit and the tax burden carried by middle-class Americans by allowing individuals and corporations to dodge the taxes they owe.
- March 26, 2012 – Sen. Levin calls missile defenses key to U.S. defense strategy
Addressing a major missile defense conference, Sen. Levin says missile defenses hold "a place of growing importance to our national security" and can help deter nations such as Iran from endangering global security.
- March 14, 2012 – Senate supports Sen. Levin’s approach on harbor maintenance
Sen. Levin welcomes Senate adoption of a “sense of the Senate” resolution calling on Congress to address the growing backlog of maintenance needs at the nation’s harbors, including Great Lakes harbors. The resolution, while not legally binding, adopts the approach contained in Sen. Levin’s Harbor Maintenance Act.
- March 8, 2012 – Levin-Conrad amendment cracks down on offshore tax loopholes
The Senate adopts an amendment offered by Sen. Levin, Sen. Kent Conrad and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse that adds important new tools to the fight against offshore tax abuses that increase the budget deficit and disadvantage middle-class taxpayers.
View more of Senator Levin’s work on Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy »
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