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Working paper

A Synthetic Income Tax Return Data File: Tentative Work Plan and Discussion Draft

Leonard E. Burman, Alex Engler, Surachai Khitatrakun, James R. Nunns, Sarah Armstrong
June 30, 2017
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Abstract

Administrative tax data contain a wealth of information that is potentially valuable for research and analysis. However, the legal and ethical imperative to protect taxpayer privacy has restricted access to a small number of government analysts and select researchers. We propose to develop in consultation with the experts at the Statistics of Income division of the IRS a fully synthetic tax database – that is, a file that preserves many of the statistical characteristics of the restricted data without containing any identifiable tax return information. We will test our procedures using the existing public use file and adapt the procedures to run on the confidential tax data. Working with the IRS, we also hope to develop a procedure for researchers to submit their statistical programs, which have been tested on the synthetic data, to run on IRS computers subject to a review to guarantee that output satisfies disclosure avoidance protocols. A fee structure would be set to defray costs.

Research Area

Individual Taxes Income tax (individual)
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Meet the Experts

  • Leonard E. Burman
    Institute Fellow
  • Alex Engler
  • Surachai Khitatrakun
    Senior Research Associate
  • James R. Nunns
    Urban Institute Associate
  • Sarah Armstrong
Brief

Understanding the Maze of Recent Child and Work Incentive Proposals

Elaine Maag, Nikhita Airi
June 1, 2020
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