Robert McClelland

Senior Fellow

I was raised to believe that our first allegiance must be to the truth. In the past I’ve been fortunate to work for federal agencies that present facts and data in a nonpartisan fashion. I’m now excited to work at the Urban Institute, where I can similarly apply an evidence-based approach to important policy questions.

Contact

Primary tasks

Insider

A House Democrat plans to introduce a bill that would hit AR-15s with a 1,000% tax — and it could pass Congress without GOP votes

Joseph Zeballos-Roig

June 5, 2022

ABC

After a year of record gun sales, advocates mull over how a new tax could save lives

Catherine Thorbecke

November 10, 2021

Center for American Progress

The American Families Plan Taxes Billionaires and Protects Family Farms and Businesses

Nick Buffie, Bob Lord

August 30, 2021

Wall Street Journal

Capital Gains: A Century-Old Tax Break Gets a Rush of Attention

Laura Saunders

June 18, 2021

NPR

Alzheimer's Doctors On Biogen's New Drug; Tax Inequality

June 11, 2021

CBS News

How the 25 wealthiest Americans can pay little to no federal income taxes

June 10, 2021

The New York Times

A Voluntary Tax

David Leonhardt

June 10, 2021

Politico

Democrats struggle with plan to tax dynastic wealth

Brian Faler

June 10, 2021

The Journalist's Resource

How racial and ethnic biases are baked into the U.S. tax system

Clark Merrefield

May 14, 2021

PolitiFact

Chris Christie exaggerates about Joe Biden capital-gains tax proposal

Louis Jacobson

May 6, 2021

Wall Street Journal

Biden’s Capital-Gains Tax Increases Would Hit Few Americans, Study Says

Rachel Louise Ensign

May 5, 2021

The Hill

House GOP drama intensifies; BIden sets new vax goal

Alexis Simendiger, Al Weaver

May 5, 2021

The Fiscal Times

Biden Says He’s Willing to Compromise on Major Tax Hike

Yuval Rosenberg

May 5, 2021

The NonProfit Times

Equilibrium Between Taxes And A Universal Charitable Deduction

May 3, 2021

MarketWatch

Some new investors see a ‘buying opportunity’ if Biden raises capital-gains taxes on millionaires

Andrew Keshner

April 26, 2021

The Wealth Advisor

No, Biden has not signed a 45% capital gains tax or an inheritance tax increase

February 23, 2021

From TaxVox

Beyer’s Steep Gun Tax Might Curb Some Very Lethal Weapons, But It Has Gaps
June 23, 2022 –
In response to two recent mass shootings, Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) introduced a bill that would impose a 1,000 percent excise tax on certain guns...
State and Local Issues
Better Ways to Use Synthetic Controls to Model State and Local Tax Policy
June 22, 2022 –
The synthetic control method (SCM) is a relatively new and valuable tool that makes it possible to measure state or local policy against a theoretical...
Individual Taxes
Taxing Capital Gains at Death at A Higher Rate Than During Life
May 13, 2022 –
President Joe Biden and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) have proposed different ways to tax unrealized capital gains every year. Their shared goal...
How Much Will People Save From Maryland’s Gas Tax Holiday? Not Much
April 5, 2022 –
In response to rising gas prices, Maryland suspended its gas tax for 30 days. Connecticut and Georgia also have created gas tax holidays and lawmakers...
Federal Budget and Economy
How the TCJA Affected the Housing Market
March 30, 2022 –
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted, critics claimed that reducing the tax subsidy for mortgage interest would hurt home values ...
How the Pandemic Affected the TCJA’s Shift to A Chained CPI Index
February 4, 2022 –
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed the way parts of the tax code are indexed for inflation. Instead of using the standard...
Individual Taxes
Effective Income Tax Rates Have Fallen for The Top One Percent Since World War II
September 15, 2021 –
While average effective tax rates barely changed in the US from 1945 to 2015, the average tax rates of high-income households fell sharply—from about 50...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms
Biden’s Tax On Large Capital Gains At Death Will Catch A Few With Annual Incomes Of Less than $400,000
May 27, 2021 –
President Biden’s campaign promise never to raise taxes on those making $400,000 or less annually will inevitably conflict with his proposal to tax unrealized capital...
Business Taxes
Avoiding Biden’s Proposed Capital Gains Tax Hikes Won’t Be So Easy. Or Will It?
April 30, 2021 –
President Biden’s American Families Plan would make two big changes in the tax treatment of investment income such as long-term capital gains and dividends. Some...
Individual Taxes
Congress Must Redesign the Charitable Deduction: How to Do It Well
March 23, 2021 –
In 2017 and again in 2020, Congress made deficient—but temporary—changes to the federal income tax deduction for charitable giving. By significantly increasing the standard deduction,...
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms
Permanently Extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, President Trump Would Cut Taxes by $1.1 Trillion through 2030
October 27, 2020 –
During each presidential election, the Tax Policy Center analyzes the tax policies of the two major candidates. This year, TPC estimated the effects of Democratic...
Individual Taxes
A New Study Suggests Congress Could Raise Money By Increasing Capital Gains Tax Rates To 47 Percent. But There Is A Catch
September 16, 2020 –
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has proposed raising tax rates on long-term capital gains income for the highest-income investors.
Will COVID-19 Cause A Decline In Property Taxes?
June 30, 2020 –
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a sharp decline in state and local income and sales tax revenues . But history suggests that one key local...
Effective Income Tax Rates Have Fallen For The Top One Percent Since World War II
January 6, 2020 –
For the individual income tax, effective tax rates — measured as federal income tax divided by adjusted gross income (AGI) —have fallen significantly over the...
The TCJA’s Cap On Mortgage Interest Deductions Tells Us That Taxes Matter, Up To A Point
September 13, 2019 –
When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December of 2017, it made a number of changes to the individual income tax (almost...
Individual Taxes
Anybody Can Itemize Their Deductions. But Most Don’t Want To
September 5, 2019 –
It is sometimes said that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) ended the ability of millions of taxpayers to claim itemized deductions, and...
Fixing The TCJA: Restore The Personal Exemption
March 21, 2019 –
Now that Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, some lawmakers are looking for ways to rewrite the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs...
Individual Taxes
Fixing the TCJA: Restoring The Estate Tax’s Exemption Levels
March 20, 2019 –
Now that Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, some lawmakers are looking for ways to rewrite the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs...
Individual Taxes
Fixing The TCJA: How Should Congress Treat the Alternative Minimum Tax?
March 19, 2019 –
Now that Democrats have taken control of the House, some lawmakers are looking for ways to rewrite the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There...
Tax Increases Encourage Lower Earners and Wives To Retire Early
February 21, 2019 –
Imagine a husband or wife near retirement age. Their tax rates go up. What do they do? I’ve published a new study, along with Kevin...
Individual Taxes
The Ups and Downs Of California’s Gas Tax
November 1, 2018 –
Last year, California raised its excise taxes on motor fuels. The tax on gasoline increased from 34.7 cents per gallon to 46.7 cents per gallon...
New Gun And Ammo Taxes Sound Like Promising Ways To Reduce Gun Violence. But There Are Problems.
May 24, 2018 –
The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2018 , introduced in Congress after February’s Parkland FL school shooting, would increase federal excise taxes...
Individual Taxes
How Do Estate And Inheritance Taxes Affect Entrepreneurs?
March 6, 2018 –
A new paper and brief explore how estate and inheritance taxes (or wealth transfer taxes) affect entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. It is a contentious issue...
Repealing The Estate Tax Could Allow Heirs Of The Very Wealthy To Avoid Tax On Capital Gains
November 16, 2017 –
he House is expected to vote today to reduce, then repeal the estate tax. The tax currently applies to only about 5,000 of the nation’s...
Business Taxes
Raise the 15 Percent Tax Rate on Capital Gains To Boost Revenue In A Progressive Way
October 11, 2017 –
Republican leaders have several challenges to overcome before they can pass a big tax bill. Here are two: (1) They need revenue to pay for...

Experts

Robert McClelland

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From TaxVox