Interest rates on government debt have been falling in many countries for the last several decades, with markets indicating that rates may stay low well into the future.  The recent economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus only accentuates these trends.  As...

The existence of small and inactive accounts is a largely inevitable feature of the US retirement saving system, which features employer-based retirement plans, individually managed accounts, and automatic enrollment. We consider the issues raised by these accounts, including the...

The future fiscal and economic health of the United States depends on its ability to increase revenues. With high and rising public debt, an aging population that will place increasing demands on federal spending, and a need for new investments in infrastructure, research and development, and...

The first CBO report of the Biden presidency laid out the fiscal status of the federal government at the start of his administration. Despite the multi-trillion-dollar response to the pandemic and related increases in national debt, the long-term direction of the federal budget has changed...

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 increased the federal earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC). In turn, 28 states and the District of Columbia will see increases in their state EITCs because of existing linkages between federal and state tax codes. We estimate that...

This chartbook compares the breadth of general sales and excise tax bases across the states. It categorizes detailed personal consumption expenditures (as measured in the Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Products Accounts) by their tax treatment in each state and the District of...

Four major policies in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will reduce the number of people in poverty in 2021 from 44 million to 28 million – shrinking the overall poverty rate from 13.7 percent to 8.7 percent. Additional $1,400 payments could further reduce poverty to between 6.4 and 6.6 percent,...

Because of the small share of the population currently eligible for itemized tax deductions for charitable giving, many charities have argued that a more universal charitable deduction or tax credit should exist. A more universal subsidy could (but would not necessarily) increase significantly...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession, as well as racial injustices and protest responses throughout 2020, have highlighted that public policies can have very different impacts on populations by race or ethnicity. Tax policies, in particular, are commonly perceived as “race neutral,”...