Institute Fellow C. Eugene Steuerle testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on options for improving the lives of charitable beneficiaries through reform of the charitable deduction. The testimony outlines ways to create a more effective charitable incentive and makes...
At the start of 2020, Governor Jared Polis organized a Tax Study Group and charged it with analyzing the efficiency and equity of Colorado’s tax system. Over the course of the year, the Tax Study Group held five learning sessions. Throughout this process, the Urban Institute’s State and Local...
The global pandemic caused an unprecedented economic disruption across the nation. But two years in, state and local tax revenues are growing by double digits, much faster than state and local economies. The large gap between growth in revenues versus economic activity is an indication that some...
Direct income supports (such as cash transfers) can stabilize households during crises and recoveries. They show special promise as an equitable means of assisting families of color with low incomes, who because of structural racism are disproportionately affected...
More than half of economic income generated by closely held businesses does not appear on tax returns and that ratio has declined significantly over the past 25 years. Tax data alone provide incomplete insights about business income taxation because the incomes reported to the IRS are already...
In this policy brief, we explore the tax implications of the fact that most of the economic income generated by closely held businesses (that is, businesses other than corporations) in the United States does not show up on tax forms. Understanding the sources of this discrepancy—including tax...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
This report presents updated figures in 2021 dollars for the lifetime benefits earned and the lifetime taxes paid by hypothetical workers participating in Social Security and Medicare. For a single male earning average wages every year and retiring in 2020 at age 65, lifetime Social Security and...
State policymakers across the country are considering tax cuts in 2022. While there are many reasons and ways to cut taxes, state policymakers should keep in mind that the pandemic’s negative effects were unequal and that future state revenue growth is uncertain. This report, using the Tax...
Options for Improving the Lives of Charitable Beneficiaries Through Reform of The Charitable Deduction
Institute Fellow C. Eugene Steuerle testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on options for improving the lives of charitable beneficiaries through reform of the charitable deduction. The testimony outlines ways to create a more effective charitable incentive and makes...
Colorado’s 2020 Tax Study Group: An Overview of Meetings and Research
At the start of 2020, Governor Jared Polis organized a Tax Study Group and charged it with analyzing the efficiency and equity of Colorado’s tax system. Over the course of the year, the Tax Study Group held five learning sessions. Throughout this process, the Urban Institute’s State and Local...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2021 Quarter 3
The global pandemic caused an unprecedented economic disruption across the nation. But two years in, state and local tax revenues are growing by double digits, much faster than state and local economies. The large gap between growth in revenues versus economic activity is an indication that some...
An Evaluation of THRIVE East of the River
Direct income supports (such as cash transfers) can stabilize households during crises and recoveries. They show special promise as an equitable means of assisting families of color with low incomes, who because of structural racism are disproportionately affected...
Taxing Business Incomes: Evidence from The Survey of Consumer Finances
More than half of economic income generated by closely held businesses does not appear on tax returns and that ratio has declined significantly over the past 25 years. Tax data alone provide incomplete insights about business income taxation because the incomes reported to the IRS are already...
Taxing Business Incomes: Evidence from The Survey of Consumer Finances
In this policy brief, we explore the tax implications of the fact that most of the economic income generated by closely held businesses (that is, businesses other than corporations) in the United States does not show up on tax forms. Understanding the sources of this discrepancy—including tax...
The Tax Gap’s Many Shades of Gray (Brief)
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
The Tax Gap’s Many Shades of Gray (Report)
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
Social Security & Medicare Lifetime Benefits and Taxes: 2021
This report presents updated figures in 2021 dollars for the lifetime benefits earned and the lifetime taxes paid by hypothetical workers participating in Social Security and Medicare. For a single male earning average wages every year and retiring in 2020 at age 65, lifetime Social Security and...
How Post-Pandemic Tax Cuts Can Affect Racial Equity
State policymakers across the country are considering tax cuts in 2022. While there are many reasons and ways to cut taxes, state policymakers should keep in mind that the pandemic’s negative effects were unequal and that future state revenue growth is uncertain. This report, using the Tax...