Elaine Maag

Some In the Environmental Justice Movement Oppose A Carbon Tax. That Is A Problem

While President Biden has called climate change an existential threat, his proposals for addressing it remain modest relative to the enormity of the problem. In...

July 20, 2021Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

How Biden’s No-Tax Pledge Could Sink His Climate Change Initiative

Nowhere is President Biden’s ambitious policy agenda more in conflict than in his triple aim of funding a major infrastructure initiative , attacking climate change...

April 9, 2021Howard Gleckman

Business Taxes: TaxVox

How Should The US Spend Carbon Tax Revenue?

The debate over a carbon tax is about two big things: The most obvious is whether a tax at politically acceptable levels could significantly slow...

January 24, 2019Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Are We Beginning An Historic Debate Over Work In the US?

Are We Beginning An Historic Debate Over Work In The US? What should the federal government do to encourage people to work? Should it try...

April 27, 2018Howard Gleckman

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The Best—And Worst—Tax Ideas of the 2016 Presidential Campaign

It is only April and we have heard presidential candidates propose some of the biggest and most ambitious tax plans i n modern US history. Donald Trump is proposing the largest tax cut ever, and Ted Cruz is not far behind. Bernie Sanders has proposed the biggest tax increase since World War II. But

April 14, 2016Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Reforming the Child Tax Credit for Low-Income Workers

Congress could significantly help low-income families with children by making current eligibility rules for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) permanent. If lawmakers allow the current threshold to expire as scheduled after 2017, families with children in the lowest income quintile will lose almost $700.

December 9, 2015Elaine Maag

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The IRS Could Improve EITC Compliance by Regulating Tax Preparers

Tax preparers play a critical role helping low income working families collect benefits from the Earned Income Tax Credit. Almost 60 percent of families claiming the EITC in 2010 and 2011 did so with the help of a paid preparer. Unfortunately, preparers can make costly mistakes—errors the taxpayer

November 2, 2015Elaine Maag

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The Case of the Carrot in Need of a Stick: A Tax Credit for Paid Family Leave

My husband and I started our family in 2005. We both worked full-time: He for a large multinational corporation, and I for a small nonprofit. My employer offered 12 weeks of unpaid family leave , even though it was too small to be covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Our family

October 7, 2015Renu Zaretsky

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Tax Subsidies for Childcare Expenses Target Middle-Income Families, Missing Many Poor Parents

Congress created two tax benefits to help offset work-related childcare expenses-- the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and the employer-provided childcare exclusion. But recently released data from the Treasury show that neither helps many of those parents who struggle the most to pay

September 11, 2015Elaine Maag

: TaxVox

Rewarding Work, Paying by the Mile, a Windfall, and… Tax Magic  

Redesign the EITC to help more low-income workers. TPC’s Elaine Maag thinks that’s the way to go. She explains in her new paper : “A worker credit based on individual earnings, and not contingent on having children at home, could provide substantial benefits to all low-income workers, ease

May 21, 2015Renu Zaretsky