Greenspan-U.S. budget controls breaking down
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday that U.S. budgetary controls in
the past decade, which created great economic advantages, had
broken down in the face of surpluses in the past two years.
The respected Fed chief said he thought one of the great
advances in budgetary policy in recent history was the
adherence to spending caps, which reduced government outlays
and helped the transition from deficits to surpluses.
"With the advent of surpluses, the budget controls broke
down badly. I think that if the Congress could put them back in
place in an effective manner, it would be a very important
public policy advance," Greenspan told the Senate Banking
Committee in the question-and-answer session of his
twice-yearly monetary policy testimony.
((--Marjorie Olster, 202-898-8310))
Greenspan-Cap gains tax faulty way to raise revenue
WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan on Tuesday told lawmakers that capital gains
taxes are an ineffective way to raise revenues for the federal
government.
"I have always argued that capital gains taxation is a poor
means of raising revenue," Greenspan told the Senate Banking
Committee in answering questions after delivering his
semiannual monetary policy testimony.
"I think that taxes on capital, of the form which that is,
is not something which I would consider to be an appropriate
economic form of taxation," he added.
((Washington newsroom, +1 202 898-8314, fax +1 202 898-8383,
washington.newsroom@reuters.com))
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