Tax cuts often look like “free lunches” for taxpayers, but they eventually have to be paid for with other tax increases or spending cuts. We examine the distributional effects – with and without financing – of both the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. When ignoring...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would reduce tax revenue by nearly $1.5 trillion over the 10-year budget window from FY2018 to FY2027. Analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that the tax cuts would tilt heavily toward the highest fifth of the income distribution, largely the result of cuts to...

States adopt a variety of budget practices to help define spending priorities and influence fiscal outcomes. However, not all budget practices achieve the desired fiscal objectives, and some practices may compromise states’ long-term fiscal sustainability. This report discusses evidence from the...

In Part 1 of this exercise, TPC estimated the revenue and distributional effects of proposals that wouldeliminate almost all income tax expenditures to lower individual and corporate tax rates and maintain long-run revenue neutrality for the Federal tax system. The results of Part 1 showed that...

Policy makers have long sought to boost households’ retirement saving through tax incentives. Little is known, however, about how savers’ contributions are linked across different types of tax-preferred accounts. Previous research has concluded that workers who become eligible for a 401(k) plan...

This brief discusses how savers’ contributions are linked across different types of tax-preferred accounts. Previous research has concluded that workers who become eligible for a 401(k) plan also see stronger growth in IRA balances. However, the mechanism for this increase – contributions, asset...

Entrepreneurs create successful enterprises that generate substantial value through the innovations they introduce. They typically must wait many years before their firms generate net operating profits. The tax system favors entrepreneurial activity by allowing deferral of tax on the accrual of...

This study examines the effect of alcohol excise taxes on alcohol- related fatal traffic crashes. In 2015, 29.3 percent of the 35,092 traffic fatalities in the United States involved someone driving under the influence of alcohol. Raising federal or state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages...

Distributional analyses play a prominent role in policy discussions. Both tax and transfer policy have important distributional consequences, but traditionally they have been examined separately. This report describes a new methodology for integrated distributional analysis that imports results...

This analysis was updated on October 27, 2017 to incorporate dynamic scoring results.

The Tax Policy Center has produced preliminary estimates of the potential impact of proposals included in the “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code.” We find they would reduce...