Although the US tax code does not explicitly reference race or ethnicity, the federal individual income tax can create racial disparities when factors that affect tax liability are associated with race. This paper provides new evidence on racial differences in marriage tax penalties and bonuses...
Although the US tax code does not explicitly reference race or ethnicity, the federal individual income tax can create racial disparities when factors that affect tax liability are associated with race. This paper provides new evidence on racial differences in marriage tax penalties and bonuses...
Although it is generally blind with respect to race, the tax code can create racial disparities when factors that affect tax liability are correlated with race. In this working paper, we provide new evidence on racial differences in marriage penalties and bonuses in the income tax, using data...
Legislated changes affecting capital income have dramatically reduced the federal income tax base and revenues over the past 25 years. A significant share of capital income is never subject to tax. The massive “leakage” between the generation of economic income and the reporting of income on tax...
More than half of economic income generated by closely held businesses does not appear on tax returns and that ratio has declined significantly over the past 25 years. Tax data alone provide incomplete insights about business income taxation because the incomes reported to the IRS are already...
In this policy brief, we explore the tax implications of the fact that most of the economic income generated by closely held businesses (that is, businesses other than corporations) in the United States does not show up on tax forms. Understanding the sources of this discrepancy—including tax...
This policy brief summarizes a new paper (Gale et al. 2022a) in which we develop and refine methods for estimating income tax liabilities in public-use Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) micro data files. Most recently conducted in 2019, the SCF is a triennial household survey with extensive...
The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial household survey with extensive demographic, income, and balance sheet information. The SCF is unique among public-use household surveys because it oversamples wealthy households and is thus suitable for studying wealth and income inequality...
Most years, the Tax Policy Center celebrates Valentine Day with a whimsical analysis of the costs and benefits—tax-wise—of marriage. What’s new this year is that...
Over the past three decades, the United States has gone from taxing roughly half of closely held business (that is, firms other than corporations) and...
