This report analyzes a straightforward mechanism to mitigate middle-class wage stagnation: a wage tax credit of 100 percent of earnings up to a maximum credit of $10,000, called a universal earned income tax credit. The child tax credit would increase from $2,000 to $2,500 and be made fully...
The Filer Voter experiment assessed the effectiveness of conducting voter registration drives at sites providing free income tax preparation assistance to low-and moderate-income households in Cleveland, OH, and Dallas, TX. We find that the program doubled the likelihood of unregistered tax...
Effective marginal tax rates measure how a household’s material resources change as its earned income rises. For example, when a household’s earnings from work rise by $100, its net resources may rise by less than $100 as those earnings may be subject to payroll and federal, state, and local...
State government tax revenues have fluctuated wildly over the past year largely because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in late December 2017. Overall, year-over-year growth in state tax revenues was strong in the third quarter of 2018 but weaker than the growth observed in the final quarter...
On February 27, 2019 William G. Gale testified in front of the 116th U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget for a hearing entitled, "2017 Tax Law: Impact on the Budget and American Families."
In this report, we use a panel of anonymized data derived from income tax returns filed between 1999 and 2010 and Social Security benefits data to study how the labor force participation of retirement-age couples responds to taxation. We examine the responses of primary and secondary earners of...
Federal tax and spending policies are worsening the problem of economic inequality. But the tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy are only part of the challenge. The increasing diversion of government spending toward income supports and away from opportunity-building programs also...
Recent tax credit proposals to help low- and middle-income families, such as Senator Kamala Harris’ LIFT the Middle Class Act, are being hotly debated. We examine the ability of these proposals, the current earned income tax credit (EITC), and the child tax credit (CTC) to achieve three goals:...
Steven M. Rosenthal, Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, testified before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight during a hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals and Tax Law Related to Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns.” In his testimony, Rosenthal...
Total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the last three quarters of 2018. States collected slightly over $1 trillion in tax revenues in fiscal year 2018, a gain of 7.8 percent over 2017. But the revenue growth was uneven among the states and across revenue sources. Much...
A Universal EITC: Sharing the Gains from Economic Growth, Encouraging Work, and Supporting Families
This report analyzes a straightforward mechanism to mitigate middle-class wage stagnation: a wage tax credit of 100 percent of earnings up to a maximum credit of $10,000, called a universal earned income tax credit. The child tax credit would increase from $2,000 to $2,500 and be made fully...
The Filer Voter experiment: How effective is voter registration at tax time?
The Filer Voter experiment assessed the effectiveness of conducting voter registration drives at sites providing free income tax preparation assistance to low-and moderate-income households in Cleveland, OH, and Dallas, TX. We find that the program doubled the likelihood of unregistered tax...
Estimating Marginal Tax Rates Using a Microsimulation Model
Effective marginal tax rates measure how a household’s material resources change as its earned income rises. For example, when a household’s earnings from work rise by $100, its net resources may rise by less than $100 as those earnings may be subject to payroll and federal, state, and local...
State Revenues Grew in Third Quarter, but Income Taxes Face Uncertain Prospects
State government tax revenues have fluctuated wildly over the past year largely because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in late December 2017. Overall, year-over-year growth in state tax revenues was strong in the third quarter of 2018 but weaker than the growth observed in the final quarter...
The 2017 Tax Law: Impact on the Budget and American Families
On February 27, 2019 William G. Gale testified in front of the 116th U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget for a hearing entitled, "2017 Tax Law: Impact on the Budget and American Families."
Taxes and Retirement Decisions Among Women and Secondary Earners
In this report, we use a panel of anonymized data derived from income tax returns filed between 1999 and 2010 and Social Security benefits data to study how the labor force participation of retirement-age couples responds to taxation. We examine the responses of primary and secondary earners of...
Taxes, Government Transfers and Wealth Inequality
Federal tax and spending policies are worsening the problem of economic inequality. But the tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy are only part of the challenge. The increasing diversion of government spending toward income supports and away from opportunity-building programs also...
Lots of Plans to Boost Tax Credits: Which is Best?
Recent tax credit proposals to help low- and middle-income families, such as Senator Kamala Harris’ LIFT the Middle Class Act, are being hotly debated. We examine the ability of these proposals, the current earned income tax credit (EITC), and the child tax credit (CTC) to achieve three goals:...
The Value of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns to the Public and Congress
Steven M. Rosenthal, Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, testified before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight during a hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals and Tax Law Related to Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns.” In his testimony, Rosenthal...
Another Stellar Quarter of State Revenue Growth, But the Pace Is Slowing Down
Total state tax revenue from all sources showed strong growth in the last three quarters of 2018. States collected slightly over $1 trillion in tax revenues in fiscal year 2018, a gain of 7.8 percent over 2017. But the revenue growth was uneven among the states and across revenue sources. Much...