Tax Policy Center

Could a Carbon Tax Finance Corporate Rate Cuts?

How about using revenue from a carbon tax to help pay for corporate tax rate cuts? That’s the idea proposed yesterday by Rep. John Delaney (D-MD). His political calculation: Democrats would back the bill as a way to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change. Republicans would support the plan

April 23, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Tax Cuts for Low- and Moderate Income Households May Be Much More Powerful Than Cuts for the Rich

It turns out that tax cuts for the job creators...don’t create very many jobs. By contrast, tax cuts for low- and moderate-income households can boost economic growth. Those are the results of an interesting new working paper by Owen Zidar for the National Bureau of Economic Research. Zidar, an

April 21, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Rubio Tries to Triangulate Tax Policy

Newly declared GOP presidential hopeful Senator Marco Rubio is trying something truly (Bill) Clintonesque—navigating between the demands of his party’s base and a more centrist, forward-looking political agenda. Nowhere is it more obvious than in tax policy. And nowhere is the road ahead more risky

April 16, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

What Will Happen To Voluntary Tax Compliance If a Budget-constrained IRS Is Not Fixed?

Is the IRS such a mess that the nation’s system of voluntary tax compliance is at risk? Will frustrated taxpayers rebel because they can’t get help with a revenue code they can’t understand? Will aggressive taxpayers who recognize that audit rates have plummeted to the lowest levels in years

April 9, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

For Most Households, It’s About the Payroll Tax, Not the Income Tax

While policymakers obsess about the income tax, they often lose sight of an important detail: For two-thirds of households, the levy that matters most is the payroll tax. According to a new report by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the 80 million tax filers making $40,000 or less will collectively

April 2, 2015Howard Gleckman

Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Is a Consumption Tax Talk Making a Comeback?

Maybe it’s just because Congress is on spring break and tax wonks don’t have much to talk about, but suddenly the idea of a consumption tax is getting a new look. The tax plan proposed earlier this month by senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) is one form of the levy. And tax journalists

March 31, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

So Far, Affordable Care Act Users Are Managing Tax Filing, Many Uninsured May Use New Enrollment Period

So far, most people with Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies seem to be filing their taxes without huge problems, despite the complexity of the process. However, about half of those who have filed returns with tax prep firm H&R Block and who owe a penalty for not having insurance, have

February 24, 2015Howard Gleckman

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Better Ways to Link the Affordable Care Act with Tax Filing Season

The Obama Administration, finally acknowledging the seasonal mismatch between the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment season and the ACA’s tax-based penalties for failing to have insurance, decided on Friday to create a new special enrollment season for this year only . The new window will allow

February 23, 2015Howard Gleckman

Business Taxes: TaxVox

Tax Subsidies May Not Help Start-Ups as Much as Lawmakers Think

Many tax subsidies help new businesses, especially those financed with borrowed money and organized to avoid the corporate income tax . However, large numbers of start-ups may not benefit from this largess, according to a new study by my Tax Policy Center colleagues Joe Rosenberg and Donald Marron

February 9, 2015Howard Gleckman

Business Taxes: TaxVox

Do Obama’s Corporate Tax Proposals Add Up?

The tax proposals in President Obama’s 2016 budget combine two interesting ideas for international reform with his often-stated--but still vague-- goal of a broad-based corporate tax overhaul. First, the framework: Obama has once again proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from the

February 4, 2015Howard Gleckman