Tax Policy Center

Experts

Brief

The 2001 tax cut has been roundly criticized because so much of the benefit goes to the rich, but the bill also did much to help low- and middle-income families. Most notably, it increased the child tax credit and made it refundablethat is, available to families with incomes too low to owe...

April 29, 2002
Leonard E. BurmanElaine Maag
Research report

GAO released an analysis on January 11 of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility and participation rates. The study estimates that one fourth of all eligible households do not claim the EITC. However, GAO's study was based on information from two mismatched databases and its conclusions...

January 1, 2002
Leonard E. BurmanDeborah Kobes
Brief

The 2001 tax act phases out the estate tax over nine years, before reinstating it in year 10. That untenable plan guarantees that the estate tax will be revisited soon. This policy brief summarizes the economic effects of the estate tax and the proposed changes. The estate tax makes the tax...

December 1, 2001
Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. Gale
Commentary

Even before the ruins of the World Trade Towers stop smoldering, Congressional leaders are quietly planning to revive their favorite scheme to boost the economy—a $20 billion plus cut in capital gains taxes, possibly as an add-on to minimum wage legislation. Proponents, led by Senate Minority...

September 30, 2001
Leonard E. Burman
Brief

[Contra Costa Times] Economics can sometimes go round the bend. For instance, in theory, you could avoid the drawbacks of taxes - discouraging work and saving and encouraging tax shelters - by taxing people randomly. The idea is that you can't avoid taxes if you can't anticipate them....

July 15, 2001
Leonard E. Burman
Brief

[Houston Chronicle] Why is the tax code so complicated? Because whenever politicians face important tax policy choices, they always compromise with more complexity. That way they can avoid painful trade-offs.

June 3, 2001
Leonard E. Burman
Research report

A bipartisan consensus favors public policy initiatives to expand health insurance coverage. This paper summarizes new CPS data on health insurance coverage for the nonelderly and discusses the issues involved in subsidizing health insurance. We outline a tax credit option designed to diminish...

May 21, 2001
Leonard E. BurmanAmelia Gruber
Brief

[National Public Radio (NPR)]Urban Institute Senior Fellow and former Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis, Len Burman, expounds upon the earned income tax credit (EITC) as he recounts his experiences with the confusing EITC while helping a single mother with her taxes....

April 17, 2001
Leonard E. Burman
Research report

The Department of the Treasury recently released a distribution table, which shows how income tax liabilities would change under President Bush's tax plan. This release, a positive step, represents the Administration's acknowledgment that the distribution of tax burdens is important in assessing...

March 23, 2001
Leonard E. Burman

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