Administrative tax data contain a wealth of information that is potentially valuable for research and analysis. However, the legal and ethical imperative to protect taxpayer privacy has restricted access to a small number of government analysts and select researchers. We propose to develop in...
This brief discusses the abuse of tax deductions intended to encourage conservation of environmentally friendly land and historic buildings. This abuse is on the rise and a key policy question is whether this tax expenditure represents a good return on the scarce dollars the federal government...
Income volatility may complicate tax filing and predicting eligibility for critical tax benefits, such as the earned income tax credit. Half of all working-age adults¬—and 64 percent of low-income, working-age adults—have household income that for at least one month of the year will spike above...
Statement of Elaine Maag, Senior Research Associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, before the Democratic Women’s Working Group on May 24th, 2017.
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief walks...
What makes people perceive their taxes as “fair”? We worked with the news website Vox to produce a short quiz about tax knowledge, which we used to test whether drawing readers’ attention to certain aspects of the tax code changed their opinions about the fairness of their own taxes. We found...
This brief explores what makes people perceive their taxes as “fair.” We worked with the news website Vox to produce a short quiz about tax knowledge, which we used to test whether drawing readers’ attention to certain aspects of the tax code changed their opinions about the fairness of their...
Congress is currently considering passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). This bill would repeal large portions of the Affordable Care Act, including most of its sources of revenue, and would introduce significant changes to the Medicaid program and the private nongroup insurance market...
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief...
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief examines...
A Synthetic Income Tax Return Data File: Tentative Work Plan and Discussion Draft
Administrative tax data contain a wealth of information that is potentially valuable for research and analysis. However, the legal and ethical imperative to protect taxpayer privacy has restricted access to a small number of government analysts and select researchers. We propose to develop in...
Abuse of tax deductions for charitable donations of conservation lands are on the rise
This brief discusses the abuse of tax deductions intended to encourage conservation of environmentally friendly land and historic buildings. This abuse is on the rise and a key policy question is whether this tax expenditure represents a good return on the scarce dollars the federal government...
Income Volatility: New Research Results with Implications for Income Tax Filing and Liabilities
Income volatility may complicate tax filing and predicting eligibility for critical tax benefits, such as the earned income tax credit. Half of all working-age adults¬—and 64 percent of low-income, working-age adults—have household income that for at least one month of the year will spike above...
Understanding Child Care Subsidies in the Tax System
Statement of Elaine Maag, Senior Research Associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, before the Democratic Women’s Working Group on May 24th, 2017.
Tax-Favored Retirement Plans
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief walks...
What Makes Taxes Seem Fair?
What makes people perceive their taxes as “fair”? We worked with the news website Vox to produce a short quiz about tax knowledge, which we used to test whether drawing readers’ attention to certain aspects of the tax code changed their opinions about the fairness of their own taxes. We found...
Perceptions of Tax Fairness: An Experiment
This brief explores what makes people perceive their taxes as “fair.” We worked with the news website Vox to produce a short quiz about tax knowledge, which we used to test whether drawing readers’ attention to certain aspects of the tax code changed their opinions about the fairness of their...
Who Gains and Who Loses under the American Health Care Act
Congress is currently considering passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). This bill would repeal large portions of the Affordable Care Act, including most of its sources of revenue, and would introduce significant changes to the Medicaid program and the private nongroup insurance market...
Refundable Credits: The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief...
Repeal of the State and Local Tax Deduction
This year, Congress will consider what may be the biggest tax bill in decades. This is one of a series of briefs the Tax Policy Center has prepared to help people follow the debate. Each focuses on a key tax policy issue that Congress and the Trump administration may address. This brief examines...