Skip to main content
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Briefing Book
  • Resources
  • About
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Fiscal Facts
Twitter
Facebook
Logo Site
  • Topics
    • Individual Taxes
    • Business Taxes
    • Federal Budget and Economy
    • State and Local Issues
    • Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms
  • TaxVox Blog
  • Research & Commentary
  • Laws & Proposals
  • Model Estimates
  • Statistics
  • Features
Tax Policy Center

Research & Commentary

Research report
Individual Taxes

Effects of Recent Reductions in the Internal Revenue Service’s Appropriations on Returns on Investment

From 2010 through 2019, funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) dropped by 24 percent, after adjustment for inflation. As a consequence, the percentage of taxpayers who were audited fell by nearly half. In this paper, we use confidential IRS data to compare the returns on investments (ROI...

June 26, 2020
Janet HoltzblattJamie McGuire
Journal Article
Business Taxes

The Risk of Fiscal Collapse in Coal-Reliant Communities

If the United States undertakes actions to address the risks of climate change, the use of coal in the power sector will decline rapidly. Twenty-six US counties are classified as “coal-mining dependent,” meaning the coal industry is a major employer. In these areas, the industry is also an...

August 20, 2019
Adele C. MorrisNoah KaufmanSiddhi Doshi
Brief
Federal Budget and Economy

Why Local Governments Should Prepare for the Fiscal Effects of a Dwindling Coal Industry

This policy brief summarizes the implications of a carbon-constrained future on coal-dependent local governments in the United States. It considers the outlook for US coal production over the next decade under such conditions and explores how county finances could be affected. It also considers...

August 20, 2019
Adele C. MorrisNoah KaufmanSiddhi Doshi
Testimony
Individual Taxes

Reflections on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Mark Mazur, Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, testified before the Joint Economic Committee during a hearing entitled “Unleashing America’s Economic Potential.” In his testimony, Mazur presented a review of the principles of desirable tax policy, clear and less clear findings...

April 11, 2018
Mark J. Mazur
Research report
Business Taxes

Charitable Contributions of Conservation Easements

A tax deduction intended to encourage conservation of environmentally important land and historic buildings has become a lucrative way for real estate developers to finance development projects—cheating the government out of billions of dollars of revenue and in some cases doing little to...

June 1, 2017
Adam Looney
Research report
Business Taxes

Is a Territorial Tax System Viable for the United States?

Territorial tax systems require clear rules to distinguish between taxable domestic and exempt foreign-source income. Defining the source of a multinational company’s profits is difficult, however, especially for profits that are attributable to intangible assets. Shifting of reported profits to...

March 28, 2017
Eric Toder
  • Donate Today
  • Topics
  • TaxVox Blog
  • Research & Commentary
  • Laws & Proposals
  • Model Estimates
  • Statistics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Newsletters
Twitter
Facebook
  • © Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, and individual authors, 2022.