The Tax Policy Center contributes significantly to efforts to improve our tax system by providing honest, unbiased, and meaningful information about how the system works and what policy changes might improve it. I value the opportunity to help policymakers, the media, educators, and the general public understand our tax system and all its complexities.
With less than two weeks to go before Americans must file their 2016 federal income tax returns, those who didn’t have required health insurance coverage...
The federal income tax is packed with provisions aimed at subsidizing and encouraging work and helping families with children. While well intentioned, they complicate the...
Donald Trump has promised huge tax cuts for everyone. TPC’s analysis of his tax plan found that, on average , households throughout the income distribution...
Just in time for the presidential election, the Tax Policy Center’s Election Tax Calculator debuts today. We designed it to help taxpayers, analysts, and the...
Americans agonize each spring over their annual federal income tax returns. In terms of how much tax they pay, however, they should worry more about...
The US federal tax system is highly progressive, primarily because individual income tax rates rise sharply with income and refundable tax credits lead to negative...
The federal government imposes individual income taxes at seven rates, ranging from 10 percent up to 39.6 percent. But for all the attention policymakers pay...
Paul Ryan and the House Republicans rolled out a new tax plan last week that promises to lower rates, eliminate tax preferences, and simplify the federal tax system. One attractive promise: “Simple, Fair ‘Postcard’ Tax Filing” that would cut your income tax return down to just 14 lines.
The Tax Policy Center has updated its estimate of the percentage of households that will not pay federal income tax this year. We now figure it is 45...
GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush offered a tax plan last week that he says “eliminates the marriage penalty.” But it may not help many low-income...
And now, for a lighter look at tax extenders, here’s a song that borrows the tune of The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things.” If you’re looking for...
Last week’s Congressional Budget Office fiscal update largely focused on the dangers of rising spending on health care, Social Security, and interest...
Corporate inversions are all the rage these days as U.S. businesses merge with foreign firms and then restructure the combined businesses as foreign-...
The IRS is getting a lot of flak these days about lost emails and alleged politically motivated activity. But last week I ran into a problem that hit...