Since mid-March, over 40 million Americans have filed initial claims for Unemployment Insurance benefits, which exceeds total claims filed during 81 weeks of the Great Recession.
June 15, 2020
June 15, 2020
In 2018, the IRS audited 0.6% of all individual income tax returns filed. The audit rate has steadily declined since 2011, and 2018 saw the lowest individual audit rate in the last 15 years.
June 8, 2020
June 8, 2020
Property taxes are typically a steady revenue source for local governments (generating 17% of state and local revenue and over 25% in CT, NH, and NJ). But the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about moving deadlines and missed payments.
June 1, 2020
June 1, 2020
The top marginal income tax rate on corporations is currently 21 percent, down from 35 percent before 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Over the last 100 years, this tax rate has been as high as 53 percent in 1968 and 1969.
May 25, 2020
May 25, 2020
The share of adjusted gross income (AGI) made up of interest and dividends rises with income. In 2017, the share was 2% for taxpayers with AGI under $100,000 compared with 17% for those with AGI over $10 million.
May 18, 2020
May 18, 2020
Pass-through businesses (sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S-corporations) comprised 95% of all US business tax returns in 2015, but only 40% of business receipts, with traditional C-corporations accounting for the rest.
May 11, 2020
May 11, 2020
Census reports sales for retail and food services fell 8.7% between February and March. General sales tax revenue can be vital for state and local governments, comprising over 20% of annual general revenue in six states.
May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020
State excise taxes on beer range from 2 cents per gallon in Wyoming to $1.29 per gallon in Tennessee. In other words, it costs about 71 cents more in excise taxes to purchase a six-pack in Tennessee than in Wyoming (72 cents vs. 1 cent).
April 27, 2020
April 27, 2020
State excise taxes on wine range from 20 cents per gallon in California and Texas to $2.50 per gallon in Alaska. In other words, Alaskans pay about 46 cents more in excise taxes to purchase a bottle of wine than Californians or Texans.
April 20, 2020
April 20, 2020
The median net worth for a non-Hispanic white family ranged from 6 to 18 times higher than that for black and Hispanic families between 1989 and 2016. Median economic measures are often used to represent how a "typical" family is doing financially.
April 13, 2020
April 13, 2020
Wealth and debt vary widely by race or ethnicity. Between 1989 and 2016, the average net worth of non-Hispanic White families ranged from 4 to 7 times higher than for Black and Hispanic families.
April 6, 2020
April 6, 2020
Individual income tax refunds issued by IRS have increased steadily over time, but spiked between 2007 and 2010 due to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
March 30, 2020
March 30, 2020
The EITC is the most effective anti-poverty program for low- and moderate-income working families. In 2017, the federal credit was claimed by 18% of all individual income tax returns, and over 25% of returns in Louisiana and Mississippi.
March 23, 2020
March 23, 2020
Consumption tax revenue (federal, state, and local levels) was 18% of total tax revenues for the US in 2018, compared to 28% for all other OECD countries. This is in part because the US does not have a broad-based national sales tax, or a VAT.
March 16, 2020
March 16, 2020
The IRS staff was around 73,500 full-time-equivalent employees in fiscal year 2018. The workforce has declined by over 35 percent between 1989 and 2018.
