Tax Policy Center

Experts

Expert

Elaine Maag

Senior Fellow, Research

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.

Social Media

Brief

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump proposed three new tax benefits related to child care – an expanded credit for low-income families, a deduction for higher income families, and a savings account. These proposals bring attention to the burden child care costs can place on low- and...

February 27, 2017
Lily L. BatchelderElaine MaagChye-Ching HuangEmily Horton
Research report

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 requires the IRS to delay tax refunds for taxpayers who claim an earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit on their returns until at least February 15. The delay could help the IRS better check claims for these credits. But this...

December 7, 2016
Elaine MaagStephen RollJane Oliphant
Research report

The income tax provisions related to families and work—filing status, rate schedules, the standard deduction, personal exemptions, the child and earned income tax credits, and the taxation of dependents—are complex, too small to encourage work for many low earners, and unfair to some families....

December 5, 2016
James R. NunnsElaine MaagHang Nguyen
Brief

This brief analyzes seven options for Child Tax Credit reform that would (1) make the CTC more consistent with other parts of the tax code; (2) target additional benefits to young children; or (3) broadly increase the credit for most current recipients.

October 19, 2016
Elaine MaagElena Ramirez
Research report

The American family is changing. Individuals marry later, divorce more frequently, or live together without being married. Nonmarital births, complex custody arrangements, and multiple generations of families living together are more common, but the tax system has not kept pace. Although tax...

March 3, 2016
Elaine MaagH. Elizabeth PetersSara Edelstein
Research report

Marco Rubio’s tax proposal would convert the federal income tax into a consumption tax by not taxing investment income of individuals and by converting the corporate income tax into a cash-flow consumption tax. It would replace most deductions and exemptions with a universal credit; eliminate...

February 11, 2016
Elaine MaagRoberton C. WilliamsJeffrey RohalyJames R. Nunns
Brief

The federal child tax credit provides a credit of up to $1,000 per child under age 17; the refundable portion of the credit, which is crucial for low-income families, is limited to 15 percent of earnings above a defined threshold. That threshold is set to increase from $3,000 to almost $15,000...

December 9, 2015
Elaine Maag
Research report

The earned income tax credit (EITC) is the most effective antipoverty program targeted to working-age households, delivering $60 annually. Critics note a relatively high error rate – with errors often stemming from complicated rules about who counts as a “qualifying child”. We analyze data from...

September 30, 2015
Elaine MaagMike PergamitDevlin HansonCaroline RatcliffeSara EdelsteinSarah Minton
Brief

Tax and transfer programs can create significant bonuses and penalties for low- and moderate-income cohabiters with children. We find that federal tax laws can create marriage penalties that reach almost 10 percent of earnings for our hypothetical couples earning $40,000 or $50,000 a year. In...

September 8, 2015
Elaine Maag

From TaxVox

RSS