Some of the costliest tax expenditures the federal government allows go to subsidizing homeownership. In 2004, the total tax expenditure value of the mortgage interest deduction was $70.2 billion while the value for the real estate tax deduction was $19.3 billion. Fifty-four percent of these...
Although retail gasoline prices have reached an all-time high, gasoline taxes are not to blame. Gasoline taxes (both federal and state) average 43 cents per gallon and have fallen in real terms. Gasoline prices and taxes do vary across regions but there is little correlation between tax rates...
Several pressures are combining to force lawmakers to seek a more permanent resolution to the estate tax issue. This article suggests a possible compromise that would enhance the ability of wealthy individuals to avoid paying tax to government and still pass on significant assets to their heirs-...
In recent years, the percentage of individual taxpayers using paid preparers and software has increased, while the share of taxpayers who self-prepare without software has dropped sharply. Using the Individual Taxpayer Burden Model developed by IBM Business Consulting Services for the IRS, we...
Child care's costs can be too high for low-income working families. As of 2004, along with a federal credit for child care expenses, 27 states offered tax credits or deductions to offset these expenses. Thirteen states offered a refundable child care creditat least for low-income families;...
The federal tax system provides little incentive for participation in tax-preferred saving plans to households that most need to save more for retirement and whose contributions would most likely represent an actual increase in savings. By contrast, the tax code provides its strongest incentives...
The employer exclusion of contributions for medical insurance premiums and medical care from employee income taxes is the single largest tax expenditure in the federal budget, worth $112 billion in fiscal year 2005. Even when adjusting for growth in medical prices, the employer exclusion still...
Provisions in the federal income tax code that treat married couples as one tax unit and cohabiting couples as two tax units result in both marriage penalties and bonuses. This analysis uses data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to show the extent to which low-income,...
Leonard Burman's testimony, submitted to the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, focuses on both the original minimum tax and its successor, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). Both the minimum tax and the AMT have applied in the past to a small minority of...
H.R. 25 would replace federal taxes with a 23 percent tax-inclusive (30
percent tax-exclusive) sales tax on private consumption, household
interest payments, and government spending, and give households payments to offset taxes on consumption up to the poverty line. This paper shows...
Who Receives Homeownership Tax Deductions and How Much?
Some of the costliest tax expenditures the federal government allows go to subsidizing homeownership. In 2004, the total tax expenditure value of the mortgage interest deduction was $70.2 billion while the value for the real estate tax deduction was $19.3 billion. Fifty-four percent of these...
Gasoline Taxes and Rising Fuel Prices
Although retail gasoline prices have reached an all-time high, gasoline taxes are not to blame. Gasoline taxes (both federal and state) average 43 cents per gallon and have fallen in real terms. Gasoline prices and taxes do vary across regions but there is little correlation between tax rates...
Estate Tax Reform - A Third Option
Several pressures are combining to force lawmakers to seek a more permanent resolution to the estate tax issue. This article suggests a possible compromise that would enhance the ability of wealthy individuals to avoid paying tax to government and still pass on significant assets to their heirs-...
The Effects of Tax Software and Paid Preparers on Compliance Costs
In recent years, the percentage of individual taxpayers using paid preparers and software has increased, while the share of taxpayers who self-prepare without software has dropped sharply. Using the Individual Taxpayer Burden Model developed by IBM Business Consulting Services for the IRS, we...
State Tax Credits for Child Care
Child care's costs can be too high for low-income working families. As of 2004, along with a federal credit for child care expenses, 27 states offered tax credits or deductions to offset these expenses. Thirteen states offered a refundable child care creditat least for low-income families;...
Making the Tax System Work for Low-Income Savers
The federal tax system provides little incentive for participation in tax-preferred saving plans to households that most need to save more for retirement and whose contributions would most likely represent an actual increase in savings. By contrast, the tax code provides its strongest incentives...
Growth in the Exclusion of Employer Health Premiums
The employer exclusion of contributions for medical insurance premiums and medical care from employee income taxes is the single largest tax expenditure in the federal budget, worth $112 billion in fiscal year 2005. Even when adjusting for growth in medical prices, the employer exclusion still...
Taxes and Marriage for Cohabiting Parents
Provisions in the federal income tax code that treat married couples as one tax unit and cohabiting couples as two tax units result in both marriage penalties and bonuses. This analysis uses data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to show the extent to which low-income,...
The Expanding Reach of the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
Leonard Burman's testimony, submitted to the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, focuses on both the original minimum tax and its successor, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). Both the minimum tax and the AMT have applied in the past to a small minority of...
The National Retail Sales Tax: What Would the Rate Have To Be?
H.R. 25 would replace federal taxes with a 23 percent tax-inclusive (30
percent tax-exclusive) sales tax on private consumption, household
interest payments, and government spending, and give households payments to offset taxes on consumption up to the poverty line. This paper shows...