To respond effectively to state and federal policy changes, city leaders, non-profit service providers, advocates, and researchers all need accurate data on how federal funds flow to local governments. Unfortunately, those data are spread across multiple sources that are often indecipherable or...

This exercise is a structured analysis to understand the implications that repealing tax expenditures would have for the overall federal tax system. The baseline tax law for the calculations in this exercise is the law in effect before enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (essentially the Tax...

Unemployment insurance (UI) helps workers to smooth their consumption after employment loss, but also diminishes their incentive to quickly find new jobs. While both of these considerations have been extensively studied, little or no attention has been paid to possible implications of UI for...

Taxes defined Congress’s agenda for much of 2017, culminating in passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in late December. Because of that new federal law, taxes will dominate many state legislative sessions in 2018. The TCJA changed many federal tax provisions, and how states choose to...

Tax cuts often look like “free lunches” for taxpayers, but they eventually have to be paid for with other tax increases or spending cuts. We examine the distributional effects – with and without financing – of both the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. When ignoring...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would reduce tax revenue by nearly $1.5 trillion over the 10-year budget window from FY2018 to FY2027. Analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that the tax cuts would tilt heavily toward the highest fifth of the income distribution, largely the result of cuts to...

States adopt a variety of budget practices to help define spending priorities and influence fiscal outcomes. However, not all budget practices achieve the desired fiscal objectives, and some practices may compromise states’ long-term fiscal sustainability. This report discusses evidence from the...

In Part 1 of this exercise, TPC estimated the revenue and distributional effects of proposals that wouldeliminate almost all income tax expenditures to lower individual and corporate tax rates and maintain long-run revenue neutrality for the Federal tax system. The results of Part 1 showed that...

Policy makers have long sought to boost households’ retirement saving through tax incentives. Little is known, however, about how savers’ contributions are linked across different types of tax-preferred accounts. Previous research has concluded that workers who become eligible for a 401(k) plan...

This brief discusses how savers’ contributions are linked across different types of tax-preferred accounts. Previous research has concluded that workers who become eligible for a 401(k) plan also see stronger growth in IRA balances. However, the mechanism for this increase – contributions, asset...