Would increasing the Internal Revenue Service’s funding for audits increase tax collections by more than the cost? Yes, if the funds are spent wisely.

It may be months before a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus is available to everyone. But it may be just a month or so before...

With Congress about to debate a second round of stimulus payments for tens of millions of people, it is important to review some lessons about...

Sometimes, the junk mail and the bills pile up unopened on my dining room table. The Internal Revenue Service has me beat. After the COVID-19...

I look forward to the day when the economy is strong enough that we can worry about the gigantic debt left behind by federal relief and recovery efforts.

Can heirs keep a Coronavirus Recovery Rebate that the Internal Revenue Service sent to a dead person? If the decedent passed away this year, the...

Defying the skeptics (including me ), the Internal Revenue Service last week began depositing direct payments of $1,200 for adults (plus $500 per child under...

Today’s advice: If you have not yet filed your federal income tax return, do not—repeat, do not—send the Internal Revenue Service a paper return—especially if...

One big unanswered question about the COVID-19 recovery rebates included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Act: What year’s income will the...

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act promises that low-income Social Security beneficiaries will automatically get their $1,200 COVID-19 rebate, but new guidance...

During last month’s Democratic presidential debate, moderator Gayle King asked the candidates what motto guided their lives. If Oprah’s best friend ever asks me, I...

Democracies become oligarchies when wealth is too concentrated. So begins a letter by Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman about presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’...

Take two tax credits, and call me in the morning. For many politicians that is the tried and true prescription for the economic and social...

More than 300 tax ideas explained

It's not exactly a "2-cent" tax.

I believe that every person in the tax policy game—from members of the tax-writing committees to research assistants at the Tax Policy Center—should compute their...

Following nearly a decade of cutbacks in the Internal Revenue Service’s funding, many observers are concerned about the agency’s ability to enforce the tax code...

A few weeks back, my colleague Renu Zaretsky wrote about the IRS’s brain drain. As many experienced employees retire or prepare to do so, the...

Remember Evicted , Matthew Desmond’s harrowing account of the housing travails of low-income families in Milwaukee? Undoubtedly senators (and presidential hopefuls) Cory Booker and Kamala...