Tax Policy Center

Tax Reform Act of 1986

Business Taxes: TaxVox

The Fate Of Biden’s Corporate Tax Hikes May Rest On Who Voters Think Pay Them

As the partisan battle heats up over President Biden’s ambitious infrastructure plan—and the tax increases to pay for it—the fate of the package will largely...
June 17, 2021Howard Gleckman
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Indexing Capital Gains For Inflation Addresses A Real Problem But Ignores Existing Law

The idea of indexing capital gains for inflation is getting a lot of attention these days. Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House National Economic...
August 22, 2018C. Eugene Steuerle
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The TCJA Has Replaced The 1986 Tax Act, But Is It Tax Reform?

In a recent TaxVox blog, my TPC colleague Eric Toder showed that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) effectively upended the key principle...
March 30, 2018Harvey Galper
: TaxVox

1986 RIP: Different Tax Rates for Different Income Sources

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the most far-reaching tax legislation since the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86). It also put...
March 16, 2018Eric Toder
: TaxVox

Did the President and Congress “Give” Us a Tax Cut?

Politicians love to claim that they have given us something. “We want to give you, the American people, a giant tax cut for Christmas ...
February 5, 2018C. Eugene Steuerle
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Without Guiding Principles, The TCJA Is Becoming A Magnet For Special Deals

Tax reform is hard enough when it is based on a set of principles around which Congress can write a new law. But when lawmakers...
December 7, 2017Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox

How Congress Violates Its Own Goals for Tax Reform

Bismarck is credited with the warning: “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.” It is never truer than...
November 29, 2017C. Eugene Steuerle
: TaxVox

Tax Cuts Won’t Make America Great Again

In a speech earlier this week, Donald Trump invoked Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts as a model for his own plan. Trump said Reagan’s tax...
October 20, 2017William G. Gale
: TaxVox

Eight Lessons on How to Design Tax Reform

Endorsing the concept of tax reform is just one small step towards making it a reality. How do lawmakers, who are confronted with an almost...
October 13, 2017C. Eugene Steuerle
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

What Team Trump Didn’t Tell Us About His Tax Plan

When President Reagan first introduced his version of what would become the landmark 1986 tax reform, his staff kicked off the debate with a phone...
April 27, 2017Howard Gleckman