Tax-exempt organizations are subsidized relative to taxable organizations because income related to furthering their core mission is excluded from income tax. The value of this subsidy is unclear. There is no government-provided estimate, and the tax benefit for any organization depends on the...
In the years following the American Revolution, the states and Congress struggled to pay down the domestic debt, which had consolidated in the hands of wealthy speculators. With a serious money shortage in the countryside, small farmers found they could not pay their taxes – and many were angry...
In response to Hamilton’s upwardly redistributive “funding system,” which directed revenue from a regressive tax on whiskey to the wealthy owners of public debt, western Pennsylvania farmers revolted, seeking a new tax system that was “equal” – that is, proportionate to wealth. To the extent...
Each year, the Internal Revenue Services receives over 3 billion information returns, such as W-2s and 1099-INTs, from employers, banks, and other entities. The IRS also collects some data about taxpayers from other government agencies and the private sector. But given budget cuts and data...
On June 22, 2022, William Gale testified before the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth in a hearing entitled, "Tackling the Tax Code: Evaluating Fairness, Efficiency, and Potential to Spur Inclusive Economic Growth."
In 2017, the Tax Policy Center published “The Synthetic Control Method as a Tool to Understand State Policy,” a guide for using the synthetic control method (SCM) as a quantitative adjunct to case studies. With it, analysts can evaluate cases in which there is a single treated unit and no...
In 2010, Abadie, Diamond and Hainmueller used the synthetic control method to analyze a cigarette tax implemented in California in 1988. Since then, this method has been increasingly popular, with the original article garnering more than four thousand citations. Part of the synthetic control...
This paper examines how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will affect the US energy sector. It combines qualitative analysis of a range of TCJA provisions with estimates from the Tax Policy Center’s Investment and Capital Model of how a narrower set of provisions will change marginal effective...
The American Rescue Plan temporarily increased the child tax credit (CTC) in 2021, including extending the credit to families who had not previously filed tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service automatically sent monthly payments of the CTC to families that had filed a tax return in 2019 or...
Total state tax revenue collections increased 24.1 percent in nominal terms and 17.2 percent in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2021 relative to a year earlier.
Although state revenue collections have grown rapidly in the most recent months and reported revenue growth is widespread...
How Much Do Tax-Exempt Organizations Benefit from Tax Exemption?
Tax-exempt organizations are subsidized relative to taxable organizations because income related to furthering their core mission is excluded from income tax. The value of this subsidy is unclear. There is no government-provided estimate, and the tax benefit for any organization depends on the...
Taxation and the Origins of the Constitution
In the years following the American Revolution, the states and Congress struggled to pay down the domestic debt, which had consolidated in the hands of wealthy speculators. With a serious money shortage in the countryside, small farmers found they could not pay their taxes – and many were angry...
The Whiskey Rebellion and the Fight for Equal Taxation in Early America
In response to Hamilton’s upwardly redistributive “funding system,” which directed revenue from a regressive tax on whiskey to the wealthy owners of public debt, western Pennsylvania farmers revolted, seeking a new tax system that was “equal” – that is, proportionate to wealth. To the extent...
Machine Learning and Tax Enforcement
Each year, the Internal Revenue Services receives over 3 billion information returns, such as W-2s and 1099-INTs, from employers, banks, and other entities. The IRS also collects some data about taxpayers from other government agencies and the private sector. But given budget cuts and data...
Tackling the Tax Code: Evaluating Fairness, Efficiency, and Potential to Spur Inclusive Economic Growth
On June 22, 2022, William Gale testified before the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth in a hearing entitled, "Tackling the Tax Code: Evaluating Fairness, Efficiency, and Potential to Spur Inclusive Economic Growth."
An Update on the Synthetic Control Method as a Tool to Understand State Policy
In 2017, the Tax Policy Center published “The Synthetic Control Method as a Tool to Understand State Policy,” a guide for using the synthetic control method (SCM) as a quantitative adjunct to case studies. With it, analysts can evaluate cases in which there is a single treated unit and no...
What is the Synthetic Control Method?
In 2010, Abadie, Diamond and Hainmueller used the synthetic control method to analyze a cigarette tax implemented in California in 1988. Since then, this method has been increasingly popular, with the original article garnering more than four thousand citations. Part of the synthetic control...
Effects of 2017 US Federal Tax Overhaul on the Energy Sector
This paper examines how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will affect the US energy sector. It combines qualitative analysis of a range of TCJA provisions with estimates from the Tax Policy Center’s Investment and Capital Model of how a narrower set of provisions will change marginal effective...
Early Lessons on Increasing Participation in The Child Tax Credit
The American Rescue Plan temporarily increased the child tax credit (CTC) in 2021, including extending the credit to families who had not previously filed tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service automatically sent monthly payments of the CTC to families that had filed a tax return in 2019 or...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2021 Quarter 4
Total state tax revenue collections increased 24.1 percent in nominal terms and 17.2 percent in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2021 relative to a year earlier.
Although state revenue collections have grown rapidly in the most recent months and reported revenue growth is widespread...