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Title
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Tax amnesty: State and european experience
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This paper surveys the recent experience of States and European countries with tax amnesty programs. The introductory section reflects the surge of interest in providing a Federal program of similar scope to some of the State tax amnesty programs already offered with quotes from Members of Congress and the Administration. A brief history of prior Federal involvement with tax amnesty programs follows. General observations pertaining to the State programs, along with what appear to be certain keys to success for State programs, is followed by a more detailed summary of each of the eight State programs held to date. The information gathered for this section was obtained from interviews held with State officials. The final section discusses the experience of European tax amnesty programs in France, Italy, and Belgium and concludes with possible lessons the United States might draw from them.
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Title
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Comparison of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's groundwater protection strategies
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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Since 1979, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has expended considerable effort on developing an approach to protect groundwater from pollution. Because groundwater protection has traditionally been a right of the States, EPA sought to develop a groundwater protection strategy that would establish agency policy to protect groundwater under existing Federal statutes, but be sensitive to the rights and protection efforts of the States. EPA's efforts to prepare a groundwater strategy have been controversial and the strategy has been redrafted three times. This report compares and contrasts the three EPA groundwater strategies. EPA's executive summary of the proposed third version of the groundwater strategy is included in an appendix.
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Title
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Gross national product and basic manufacturing industries in the United States: Comparative analysis of growth rates, 1950-1982
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This report analyzes and compares trends in the growth of real GNP and real output in manufacturing and basic manufacturing in the Unites States between 1950 and 1982. As a corollary, the report also looks at trends in the real output growth of six basic manufacturing industries in the same period: primary metals, motor vehicles and equipment, textile mill products, paper and allied products, chemicals and allied products, and rubber and miscellaneous plastic products. The results indicate, among other things, that (1) manufacturing is not in imminent danger of disappearing, as some proponents of the "deindustrialization" thesis seem to believe, (2) since the mid-1970s, basic manufacturing at once is contributing less and less to national income and continues to be greatly influenced by changes in national income, and (3) it can be misleading to treat all basic American manufacturing industries as though they constitute a homogeneous sector facing the same competitive challenges and commercial opportunities.
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Title
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Hold the phone: The federal excise tax on telephone service; a history and discussion of issues
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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In April 1984 the House of Representatives passed the Tax Reform Act of 1984 (H.R. 4170) and the Senate its Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (an amendment to H.R. 2163, a bill to amend the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971), both of which provide for the continuation of the excise tax on telephone service at its 3-percent rate for an additional two years, through 1987. This action was deemed appropriate by congress in light of the large existing budgetary deficits. This paper presents an overall view of the Federal excise tax on telephone service. A description of the history of this tax and revenue collections are followed by an explanation to clarify the relationship of this tax to the U.S. actions in Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, this paper concludes with the principal arguments made by proponents for continuation of the tax and the opponents of the tax who support repeal.
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Title
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The cumulative educational debt of postsecondary students: Amounts and measures of manageability
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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Concerns about the increasing levels of debt incurred by postsecondary education students have been expressed with growing frequency in the past several years, particularly with regard to the borrowing by graduate and professional level students. This paper reviews and assesses what has recently been reported on the levels of debt being accumulated by postsecondary students, what various analyses have concluded is the threshold for manageable debt, and what the results are when educational debt manageability thresholds are applied to current levels of student debt. The general findings of the paper are that: (1) the data on student borrowing are very limited; (2) the largest amounts of money are being borrowed by professional level students, particularly those in medicine and law; (3) it is not clear how burdensome these levels of debt are; and (4) the manageable debt burden thresholds have a number of serious problems and, at best, provide only crude measures of the extent to which students incur unmanageable levels of debt.
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Title
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Farm income and debt: Editorial commentary
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This compilation presents editorials printed between August 3 and October 11, 1984 on farm income and debt. The editorials represent all those appearing on that subject in 100 newspapers monitored by the Congressional Research Service. The editorials are arranged by region to illustrate the concerns and responses in various parts of the country, and chronologically within each region.
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Title
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The airport improvement program
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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The Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 provided for reinstitution of a Federal airport improvement program. This report discusses the major features of this program and experience with it to date. The report also discusses major issues that may affect the program in the future.
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Title
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Federal education programs serving students with limited proficiency in the english language
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This report includes information on Federal education programs which provide educational and related services to children and youth who have a limited proficiency in the English language. Program descriptions, as well as the estimated number of program participants, grants awarded, and Federal funds used for these activities, are also included.
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Title
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Election campaigns: Selected references
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This annotated bibliography of books and articles covers election campaign management, political consultants, use of the media by candidates, and press coverage of election campaigns. It includes selected material dating from 1972.
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Title
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Commercial television: Should children's television be regulated?
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This report examines the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) policy governing children's programming practices on commercial networks. It discusses the calls for formal FCC standards by consumer groups, and FCC support of industry self regulation. Constitutional implications related to First Amendment rights of broadcasters are also discussed, along with the role played by Congress in its attempt to resolve the apparent impasse between the parties.
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Title
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Will the social security system take in more taxes than it needs?
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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Recent projections suggest that by the end of the decade social security taxes may be higher than necessary to meet the benefit commitments of the program. The excess income would be invested in Federal securities and would be used to finance other government activities in the 1990-2020 period. In later years, however, governmental resources could be strained as the securities are cashed in to help pay for the benefits of the post World War II "baby boom" retirees.
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Title
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Federal funds for school construction, FY 1981 through FY 1985
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This paper lists annually, by program, the Federal funds that have been available specifically for school construction during the past 5 years. For FY 1985, $129 million has been appropriated for such purposes out of the Department of Education's budget of $18.1 billion.
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Title
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Regional and local impacts of commercial airport relocation: A summary analysis of some factors
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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Economic impacts of relocating a commercial airport from one area to another within a metropolitan region may be felt by the locality being left, by the locality receiving the activity, and by the larger metropolitan region containing the two locations. This paper provides a brief analysis of factors associated with economic impacts for the affected areas. The analysis is based on generalized assumptions for economic conditions in the respective areas prior to the hypothetical relocation.
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Title
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The 1982 tax return data and supply-side response to the tax cut: Manifestation or mirage?
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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This paper examines the recent claims that the published 1982 tax return data show that the tax cut in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 induced upper-income taxpayers to relay less heavily on tax shelters and to pay more, not less, income tax. The report indicates that the tax return data neither prove nor disprove these claims because they do not enable separating other effects, for example, normal income growth and short-term tax planning activities, from the long-term incentive effects of the tax cut. The implications for tax equity are also discussed.
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Title
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Carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect, and climate: A primer
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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The report summarizes the present state of knowledge with respect to research and assessment of carbon dioxide effects, articulating the areas of emerging consensus and continuing disagreement, and focusing attention on the crucial uncertainties. Key scientific, technical, and social issues of contemporary carbon dioxide/climate debate are identified, and the implications and options for dealing with the possible effects of carbon dioxide-induced climatic change are outlined.
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Title
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"Unstated interest" and the tax treatment of property sales
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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The Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 changed the way IRS is to determine the correct interest and principal components in debt instruments that do not provide for a market rate of interest. This paper describes these new rules for "unstated" and "imputed" interest on mortgages and briefly discusses the controversy they have generated.
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Title
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The relationship between "right-to-work" laws and unemployement
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Date
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1984
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Summary
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What has been the relationship between State "Right-To-Work" laws and unemployment? This report examines the research literature on the issue, conducts several new statistical tests, and explores recent advances in labor economic theory that relate to the problem. This study also examines whether "Right-To-Work" laws have altered the allocation of Federal funding based on formulas which use unemployment rates.
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