Tax and Budget

Current Campaigns

Invest In America's Priorities

The president's budget plan is a chance to hit the reset button on our nation's investments to prioritize the needs of the American people. The plan puts our tax dollars toward meeting the challenges we face now and in the future. From returning fairness to our tax code to making significant down payments on health care reform and education, the budget plan is a blueprint for transformational change that puts the public interest ahead of special interests.

Federal Contracting Abuse

Companies with histories of shoddy work and fraudulent practices still receive billions of dollars in federal contracts. It's time for more more transparency and accountability when awarding government dollars.

Close Corporate Tax Loopholes

Loopholes in federal and state tax codes allow mostly out-of-state businesses to avoid their fair share of taxes. We're working with states and at the national level to close the loopholes and level the playing field.

Overview

How government collects and spends money is critically important. Tax and budgeting decisions are the most concrete way that government declares its public priorities and balances between competing values.

Unfortunately, budget-making rules and public laws about taxes and spending often fail the public interest in a number of ways. For instance:

•   Special-Interest Giveaways – Subsidies and tax breaks are often granted on the basis of private influence or connections instead of their public merits.

•   Lack of Transparency and Accountability – It is not possible to ensure that government decisions are fair and efficient unless information is accessible and officials can be held to task for their actions.

•   Wasteful and Counter-Productive Expenditures – Resources too often get wasted or programs create incentives that are unwarranted or undesireable

•   Unfair Taxes – Ordinary households bear an increasing burden while large corporations increasingly avoid paying their share.

•   Short-Sighted Decisions – Laws and regulations often fail to address long-term consequences, instead deferring difficult decisions or opting for short-term “fixes” that can make problems worse.

RIPIRG advocates improvements in fiscal policy to stop special-interest giveaways, increase budget transparency and accountability, eliminate waste, ensure that subsidies or tax breaks serve the public, and make taxes fairer.

Public money should be spent for the most effective pursuit of clear public benefits or to encourage beneficial behaviors undervalued by the market. RIPIRG believes that taxes should be fair, reliable, transparent, and guided by policy goals rather than political deal making. Budgeting should similarly be open, accountable, and follow long-term planning.

FEMA relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina contracted with companies that had recently been charged with defrauding the government.