The Tax Policy Center’s Resource Guide for Journalists

To assist reporters working on tax stories, the Tax Policy Center offers this quick resource guide. We hope it helps with some of the topics you are writing about.

If you have questions not addressed here, you can find a Tax Policy Center expert using the Media Resources section of our website. Just choose your topic from drop-down lists and you’ll find phone numbers for our experts.

TOPICS

• The Taxes We Pay
• Fiscal Stimulus
• Gas Tax Holiday
• Alternative Minimum Tax
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Retirement Plans
• The Tax Gap
• Costs and Complexity
• Tax Expenditures
• Itemized deductions and personal exemptions

 

The Taxes We Pay. We sort it out by income, age, and family situation.

• Who pays federal taxes? 
• Payroll tax versus income tax
• Current-law distribution of taxes

Fiscal Stimulus. What has Congress done to provide economic stimulus, what does it mean for taxpayers (and non-taxpayers), and does it make economic sense?

• Quick Facts on fiscal stimulus
• Recent legislation to provide economic stimulus

Gas Tax Holiday. Senators McCain and Clinton proposed a summer gas tax holiday and almost all economists come out against the idea. Here’s why.

• Quick Facts on the gas tax holiday proposals
• What Were They Thinking???
• A Primer on the Gas Tax Holiday
• The Gas Tax Holiday: Can the States Do Any Better?

Alternative Minimum Tax. Late in 2007, Congress adjusted AMT rules for this filing season. Here is a rundown on what Congress did and what it means.

• Quick Facts on the AMT
• Key Elements of the AMT: Tax Policy Center Briefing Book

Earned Income Tax Credit. How does it work? Who benefits?

• What is the Earned Income Tax Credit? Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
• History and Analysis of the EITC: NTA Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy

Retirement Plans. IRAs, Roths, 401(k)s--sort through the different rules.

• What kinds of tax-favored accounts are there? and other questions: Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
• “Taxpayer Eligibility for IRAs”—rules mean fewer married couples may contribute to IRAs
• Pensions and Retirement Savings: summaries and links to TPC research on retirement plans
• More on IRAs and 401(k)s

The Tax Gap. How much of the taxes people owe does the government fail to collect?

• What is the tax gap? and other questions: Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
• Reducing the Tax Gap: The Illusion of Pain-Free Deficit Reduction
• IRS commissioner Mark Everson's testimony on "The FY 2008 IRS Budget and the Tax Gap"

Costs and Complexity. How costly is it for taxpayers to file returns in our complex tax system?

• Tax Simplification: How costly is complexity? and other questions: Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
• The Effects of Tax Software and Paid Preparers on Compliance Costs
• Can Tax Time Be Less Burdensome? Transcript of a 2005 TPC forum on tax filing

Tax Expenditures. In recent years, Congress has used the tax system to conduct social policies ranging from helping families buy homes and pay for college to encouraging saving for retirement and subsidizing employment-based health insurance. Here are data on the amount of tax savings those policies involve.

• What are the largest tax expenditures? and other questions: Tax Policy Center Briefing Book
• “Don’t Ignore Tax Expenditures” — Marketplace commentary by Len Burman

Itemized deductions and personal exemptions. There are currently no limitations on itemized deductions or personal exemptions. Phaseouts of itemized deductions and personal exemptions are scheduled to return in 2013 if Congress does not vote to extend their repeal in 2012.

• What are the phaseouts of itemized deductions and personal exemptions?
• Details on itemized deduction phaseout.
• Details on personal exemption phaseout.
• Whom did the 2001 tax act’s reduction of the phaseouts affect?
  • More than half of the benefit of the reduction in Pease and PEP in 2006 went to taxpayers with income over $1 million.
  • Over 80 percent of the savings in 2006 went to the top 1 percent of tax payers
• TPC Research from 2006: Options to modify or repeal Pease and PEP

Other Questions?

If you have questions about the federal income tax or other tax issues,
talk with a TPC expert.