This article reviews the 18-year tenure of the just-retired National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, and her successes and challenges in building the post into a key role in tax administration through casework, systemic advocacy, and detailed reports to Congress.
This paper uses a large panel of transaction-level capital asset sales data to investigate whether tax responsiveness varies with economic conditions. We estimate the tax elasticity associated with a large notch in the capital gains tax schedule, when the tax treatment changes from higher,...
This policy brief summarizes the impact of traditional individual retirement accounts and Roth individual retirement accounts on personal choices and on government finances. Although the accounts are equivalent under certain circumstances, in practice they often differ in important ways for both...
In December 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law PL 115-97, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which substantially changed federal individual and corporate income taxes. Many of the income tax changes in the TCJA will affect state income taxes through existing links...
This report analyzes the main provisions of the federal income tax code that provide benefits to families with children, comparing current law with what would be happening had the TCJA not been enacted, and discusses the TCJA’s implications for families of different income levels. On net, almost...
In this brief we consider the largest nonbusiness tax expenditures in the individual income tax. We provide a description of these provisions, estimates of their cost and the distribution of their tax benefits across income groups, and briefly summarize their effects. We consider tax...
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
The Filer Voter experiment, conducted in 2018, assessed the effectiveness of conducting voter registration drives at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites for lower-income households in Cleveland and Dallas. The Filer Voter program doubled the likelihood of unregistered voters registering...
The earned income tax credit provides substantial assistance to low- and moderate-income workers. Benefits tilt heavily to families with children. Prompted in part by the success of the credit and in part by shortcomings in the credit, policymakers, advocates, and analysts have offered up reform...
The cost-of-living refund (CLR), a proposal from the Economic Security Project, would revise the current earned income tax credit (EITC) by increasing benefits for many people, expanding eligibility for the credit, and paying the credit in advance via monthly payments. The proposal would provide...
The Inside Agitator
This article reviews the 18-year tenure of the just-retired National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, and her successes and challenges in building the post into a key role in tax administration through casework, systemic advocacy, and detailed reports to Congress.
The critical appreciation...
Investor Responsiveness to Capital Gains Taxes During the Great Recession
This paper uses a large panel of transaction-level capital asset sales data to investigate whether tax responsiveness varies with economic conditions. We estimate the tax elasticity associated with a large notch in the capital gains tax schedule, when the tax treatment changes from higher,...
Roth IRAs Versus Traditional IRAs: Implications for Individuals and Government
This policy brief summarizes the impact of traditional individual retirement accounts and Roth individual retirement accounts on personal choices and on government finances. Although the accounts are equivalent under certain circumstances, in practice they often differ in important ways for both...
Effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on State Individual Income Taxes
In December 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law PL 115-97, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which substantially changed federal individual and corporate income taxes. Many of the income tax changes in the TCJA will affect state income taxes through existing links...
Shifting Child Tax Benefits in the TCJA Left Most Families About the Same
This report analyzes the main provisions of the federal income tax code that provide benefits to families with children, comparing current law with what would be happening had the TCJA not been enacted, and discusses the TCJA’s implications for families of different income levels. On net, almost...
What are the Largest Nonbusiness Tax Expenditures?
In this brief we consider the largest nonbusiness tax expenditures in the individual income tax. We provide a description of these provisions, estimates of their cost and the distribution of their tax benefits across income groups, and briefly summarize their effects. We consider tax...
State Revenues Were Weak in The Fourth Quarter of 2018; But Revenue Outlook for FY 2019 Remains Positive
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
The Filer Voter Experiment: How Effective is Voter Registration at Tax Time?
The Filer Voter experiment, conducted in 2018, assessed the effectiveness of conducting voter registration drives at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites for lower-income households in Cleveland and Dallas. The Filer Voter program doubled the likelihood of unregistered voters registering...
Redesigning the EITC: Issues in Design, Eligibility, Delivery, and Administration
The earned income tax credit provides substantial assistance to low- and moderate-income workers. Benefits tilt heavily to families with children. Prompted in part by the success of the credit and in part by shortcomings in the credit, policymakers, advocates, and analysts have offered up reform...
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit: The Economic Security Project’s Cost-of-Living Refund
The cost-of-living refund (CLR), a proposal from the Economic Security Project, would revise the current earned income tax credit (EITC) by increasing benefits for many people, expanding eligibility for the credit, and paying the credit in advance via monthly payments. The proposal would provide...