Each year, the Internal Revenue Services receives over 3 billion information returns, such as W-2s and 1099-INTs, from employers, banks, and other entities. The IRS also collects some data about taxpayers from other government agencies and the private sector. But given budget cuts and data...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
Janet Holtzblatt, senior fellow in the Tax Policy Center, testified before the Select Revenue Measures and Oversight subcommittees of House Ways and Means at a hearing on the tax gap and improving tax administration. The testimony focused on four key areas: the impact of reductions in the IRS’s...
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided most US households with one-time economic impact payments to mitigate the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Internal Revenue Service was responsible for distributing the payments, which were rapidly...
From 2010 through 2019, funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) dropped by 24 percent, after adjustment for inflation. As a consequence, the percentage of taxpayers who were audited fell by nearly half. In this paper, we use confidential IRS data to compare the returns on investments (ROI...
On September 24, 2019, Janet Holtzblatt presented at TPC's event, "Taxing Wealth." This slide deck provides an overview of the concept of a wealth tax and presents three design options to create one. View a live recording of Holtzblatt's presentation here.
The Internal Revenue Service has limped through yet another tax filing season, reduced to plugging staffing holes in customer service and returns processing by shifting...
The “tax gap”—the difference between taxes owed to the government and taxes actually collected—often is equated with evasion . But the tax gap is more...
Congress is moving toward rectifying the decade-long funding crisis at the IRS . The House is on track to adopt President Biden’s proposed $1.6 billion...
By including in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) a provision to exempt up to $10,200 of last year’s unemployment benefits from federal income tax, Congress...
A few years ago, Ta-Nehesi Coates wrote a powerful essay, “The Case for Reparations” for The Atlantic . Reparations, he affirmed, would help close the...
Was it really last May that the House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would have authorized...
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.
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’...
