At the last possible moment, Congress came to an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. The deal affects tax rates, unemployment benefits, and even the price of milk. Read the details.

A reader from Shelby Township, Michigan, wrote to us to ask about the Bush-era tax cuts. "How much revenue would the federal government get," he wrote, "if taxes were raised on the people making more than $200,000 per year?" It's a very timely question. Bush-era tax cuts for high earners are the most contentious part of negotiations raging over the so-called fiscal cliff.

Now that the elections are over, in Washington it’s all about the fiscal cliff. If you haven’t heard that phrase yet, you will soon. And often.The term “fiscal cliff” refers to the combination of two major events that will occur at the end of the year should Congress fail to ...

Last week we got a call from Ayesha in Houston, Texas. She said she heard Obamacare will be funded through taxes, so she wanted to know how much more she'd have to pay. Here's the scoop. Only some people will pay higher taxes as a result of Obamacare. Will you be one of them?

This election season, National Priorities Project is launching a suite of materials to arm voters with crucial information about what's at stake in November. And part of being informed is knowing what questions to ask candidates. Here are the top six things to ask your congressional candidates about where they ...

Federal income tax credits, deductions, and exclusions are a form of government spending that cost more per year than the amount of the U.S. budget deficit.

On our Facebook page, Kevin from Pennsylvania asked about proposals he's heard in recent years in favor of a national sales tax. Given that such proposals generally try to exempt families of certain income levels, would these policies still be considered regressive?

NPP’s new report “The Untold Story of Deficits in Washington” has sparked a LOT of questions about federal revenues – the “budwonk” word for “taxes” – especially this one: “Is it true that half of all Americans pay no federal taxes?”Here’s the deal. Because many people don’t earn enough to ...

Our final pie of Pie Week! We showed you total federal spending, mandatory spending, and discretionary spending. Today's flavor of pie? Where the money comes from to fund the federal budget.

President Obama released a budget in February, the House passed a very different budget in March, and the Senate has declined to do a budget. The seeds are planted for stalemate this election year. Why can't Congress just pass a budget without all this conflict?