I believe that we can work toward providing a strong safety net for all people—and that the tax system will always be an important part of that effort.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) missed an opportunity to help low-income childless workers, very low-income families with children, and families with young children – all groups where investments could be particularly productive. The child tax credit (CTC) and earned income tax credit (EITC)...
When a recession hits, the federal government usually responds with tax cuts and additional financial assistance, because automatic policies built into the law often prove inadequate and elected officials need and want to respond to the crisis. This brief compares the distributional and stimulus...
Children under age 6 experience the highest rates of poverty of any age group and are particularly vulnerable to poverty’s lasting effects. The child tax credit (CTC) provides a $2,000 per child credit for children under age 17 (along with a credit of up to $500 per dependent 17 and older). But...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 doubled the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. But about 29 million children under age 17 with at least one working parent will miss out on the full increase because their families earn too little in income or owe too little in taxes.
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...
Distributional analyses play a prominent role in policy discussions. Both tax and transfer policy have important distributional consequences, but traditionally they have been examined separately. This report describes a new methodology for integrated distributional analysis that imports results...
Families with young children tend to have lower incomes than other families. The current child tax credit provides substantial benefits to families with children, but the maximum benefit of $1,000 is the same for all children under 17, regardless of age. We analyze a proposal that would provide...
Income volatility may complicate tax filing and predicting eligibility for critical tax benefits, such as the earned income tax credit. Half of all working-age adults¬—and 64 percent of low-income, working-age adults—have household income that for at least one month of the year will spike above...
Statement of Elaine Maag, Senior Research Associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, before the Democratic Women’s Working Group on May 24th, 2017.
A handful of the remaining Democratic presidential candidates remain committed to increasing the earned income tax credit (EITC), particularly for workers without children at home...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly changed how families with children were treated under the individual income tax, but for many - changed...
Senate Democrats have rallied around the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA) that would significantly expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and more modestly...
High-profile Democrats are floating ambitious proposals to reduce economic pressure on working Americans by expanding or supplementing tax credits for low- and middle-income families. These...
For many US households, the ongoing partial government shutdown is inconvenient. But for low-income households, it may become a severe hardship. If the shutdown goes...
Some low- and middle-income families in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Dakota are facing state income tax hikes. And the larger the family, generally...
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is proposing to raise the incomes of working families through a new tax proposal called the “LIFT (Livable Incomes for Families...
The District of Columbia is considering a creative new plan to transform the city’s earned income tax credit (EITC) from a one-time payment received at...
The final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) generally adopted the Senate provisions that directly affect families with children. As a result,...
President Trump and House Republicans promised families a significant increase in the Child Tax Credit (CTC) . The House Ways & Means Committee’s Tax Cuts...
The Big Six Unified Framework promises a tax plan that “significantly increases the Child Tax Credit (CTC)”, but provides few details. If the child tax...
Lawmakers of both parties have been talking about restructuring the refundable tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit,...
President Trump and lawmakers such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) agree that the child tax credit should be improved. They might consider increasing the credit...
President Trump, perhaps spurred on by his daughter Ivanka, wants to use the tax code to provide new government assistance to families with children. During...
