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.
Low-income parents use paid preparers more frequently than other parents. This high reliance may be a good thing. Among low-income parents who know about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) those who receive help are more likely to receive the EITC than their peers who prepare their returns...
A person's marginal tax rate, the tax rate on their last dollar of income, may influence their decision to work and save. As marginal tax rates increase, the after-tax reward from working an additional hour or saving more decreases. Although the actual effect on economic decisions is uncertain,...
In 1986, a policy decision was made to exempt poor people from the income tax. Increases in the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the introduction of the child tax credit (CTC) have increased the so-called "tax entry threshold" since 1986, and provisions in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief...
State tax revenues were $32 billion lower in 2002 than in 2001, the first year over year revenue decline in recent history.1 Since then, budget conditions have deteriorated further, with an aggregate budget gap of $49 billion in 2003, according to the National Conference of State Legislators....
Families with children in poverty receive net subsidies from the federal income and payroll tax system, but that has not always been the case. In the 1970s, income tax filing thresholds were low, and even families in poverty who owed no income tax faced substantial payroll taxes. Congress...
The figure shows one way to assess the federal income tax burden-federal income taxes as a share of income-for a family of four in the middle of the income distribution, and for similar families at twice and half that income level from 1955 to 2001. In 2001, the median family earned $63,278. By...
The federal income tax system has been used in a number of ways to promote favored forms of consumption and investment and to help selected groups of taxpayers. Since the mid-1980s, Congress has increasingly used the federal tax code to support social programs. This trend is likely to continue....
In June 2001, Congress and the president approved the Economic Growth and Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), the largest tax cut in two decades. The multiyear cut, scheduled to phase in gradually over the decade, will reduce taxes (and government revenue) by $1.35 trillion by 2010. EGTRRA then...
The 2001 tax cut has been roundly criticized because so much of the benefit goes to the rich, but the bill also did much to help low- and middle-income families. Most notably, it increased the child tax credit and made it refundablethat is, available to families with incomes too low to owe...
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...
