There are two primary tax benefits parents use to offset childcare costs. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) provides a tax credit of up to 35 percent on up to $3,000 of expenses per child ($6,000 total), for a maximum credit of $1,050 per child ($2100 total). Or, employees can...
This article summarizes a March 2007 TPC-Northwestern conference examining state and local finances. Reprinted from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Land Lines October 2007 issue.
C. Eugene Steuerle gave testimony on the taxation of carried interest before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. He notes among his findings that as a matter of both efficiency and equity, capital gains relief is best targeted where tax rates are high, as in the case of the double...
All charities claim to be performing some good for others or for society. These "outputs" require inputs of charitable resources. Nongovernmental sources can be divided broadly into two major categories: financial or real capital, and volunteer labor. These contributions of money or property and...
In this Washington Post commentary, senior fellow Len Burman explains why the capital gains tax break does more harm than good and why Congress should close the loophole once and for all.
Americans are taught from an early age to aspire to homeownership, and several long-standing federal institutions and regulations support owner-occupied residential housing. The income tax deduction for mortgage interest payments is possibly the best-known federal housing policy. Evidence...
The AMT threatens to grow from a footnote in the tax code to a major scourge affecting tens of millions of taxpayers every year. The practice in recent years has been to patch the AMT every year or two on a temporary basis so that not too many people are affected. The latest patch expired at the...
Overall, the federal tax system is highly progressive: On average, households with higher incomes pay taxes that are a larger share of their income. The 2007 average effective federal tax rate tax paid as a percentage of cash income rises from 3.4 percent for the bottom quintile or fifth of the...
This paper proposes to expand Medicare to cover comprehensive long-term care services, including home care and custodial nursing home care. These services would be financed by a surcharge on federal income taxes. Unlike the regressive payroll tax that finances Medicares hospitalization coverage...
The child and dependent care tax credit (CDCTC) is a nonrefundable tax credit designed to help offset the expenses of providing care for children under the age of 13 or disabled dependents as long as a parent or caretaker is working or searching for work. In theory, a low-income family can...
The Disappearing Child Care Credit
There are two primary tax benefits parents use to offset childcare costs. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) provides a tax credit of up to 35 percent on up to $3,000 of expenses per child ($6,000 total), for a maximum credit of $1,050 per child ($2100 total). Or, employees can...
Navigating State and Local Finances
This article summarizes a March 2007 TPC-Northwestern conference examining state and local finances. Reprinted from Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Land Lines October 2007 issue.
Tax Reform, Tax Arbitrage, and the Taxation of "Carried Interest"
C. Eugene Steuerle gave testimony on the taxation of carried interest before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. He notes among his findings that as a matter of both efficiency and equity, capital gains relief is best targeted where tax rates are high, as in the case of the double...
A Method for Measuring and Partially Testing "Charitability", Second of Three Parts
All charities claim to be performing some good for others or for society. These "outputs" require inputs of charitable resources. Nongovernmental sources can be divided broadly into two major categories: financial or real capital, and volunteer labor. These contributions of money or property and...
End the Break On Capital Gains
In this Washington Post commentary, senior fellow Len Burman explains why the capital gains tax break does more harm than good and why Congress should close the loophole once and for all.
Encouraging Homeownership Through the Tax Code
Americans are taught from an early age to aspire to homeownership, and several long-standing federal institutions and regulations support owner-occupied residential housing. The income tax deduction for mortgage interest payments is possibly the best-known federal housing policy. Evidence...
The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
The AMT threatens to grow from a footnote in the tax code to a major scourge affecting tens of millions of taxpayers every year. The practice in recent years has been to patch the AMT every year or two on a temporary basis so that not too many people are affected. The latest patch expired at the...
The Distribution of Federal Taxes
Overall, the federal tax system is highly progressive: On average, households with higher incomes pay taxes that are a larger share of their income. The 2007 average effective federal tax rate tax paid as a percentage of cash income rises from 3.4 percent for the bottom quintile or fifth of the...
A Proposal to Finance Long-Term Care Services through Medicare with an Income Tax Surcharge
This paper proposes to expand Medicare to cover comprehensive long-term care services, including home care and custodial nursing home care. These services would be financed by a surcharge on federal income taxes. Unlike the regressive payroll tax that finances Medicares hospitalization coverage...
Reforming the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
The child and dependent care tax credit (CDCTC) is a nonrefundable tax credit designed to help offset the expenses of providing care for children under the age of 13 or disabled dependents as long as a parent or caretaker is working or searching for work. In theory, a low-income family can...