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 their access to a small number of government analysts and select researchers. We propose to develop...
Recent tax cuts and the relaxation of spending caps on much of discretionary spending have added massively to the federal debt. Neither political party is showing much interest in controlling deficits and unless there are large changes in fiscal policies we are firmly on a road to a fiscal...
This speech was delivered before the Annual Meeting of the OECD Network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions in Seoul, South Korea on July 4, 2018.
American places are pulling apart from one another—economically, socially, and politically. Declining regional income convergence, increasing geographic concentration of joblessness, and an increasing awareness of the social costs of long-term joblessness and economic isolation have led many...
In this article, Auerbach, Gale, and Krupkin discuss the federal budget outlook, examining long-term debt and the fiscal gap using recently updated data from the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security and Medicare boards of trustees.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) missed an opportunity to help low-income childless workers, very low-income families with children, and families with young children – all groups where investments could be particularly productive. The child tax credit (CTC) and earned income tax credit (EITC)...
In this paper, part of the Carbon Tax Research Initiative led by Columbia University’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy, we estimate how a carbon tax would affect the distribution of tax burdens across US taxpayers. We consider three carbon tax scenarios that would price carbon at roughly $14...
Increased demand for better use of evidence in policymaking has sparked bipartisan support for better evaluation of federal spending programs. Tax expenditures, spending-like subsidies embedded in the tax code, cost taxpayers roughly as much as domestic discretionary programs, yet receive little...
Supreme Court rulings in 2013 and 2015 established and expanded rights to same-sex marriage in the U.S. One of the most visible and impactful ways the federal government recognized these new rights was by allowing—indeed, requiring—legally-married same-sex couples to file federal tax returns as...
After one year of the Trump administration, we assess the fiscal path implied by budget policies that the president and Congress have so far put in place. Using a new framework that holds lawmakers accountable for reforms taken and not taken, we project that over the coming decade, nearly all...
Safely Expanding Research Access to Administrative Tax Data: Creating a Synthetic Public Use File and a Validation Server
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 their access to a small number of government analysts and select researchers. We propose to develop...
A U.S. Fiscal Crisis?
Recent tax cuts and the relaxation of spending caps on much of discretionary spending have added massively to the federal debt. Neither political party is showing much interest in controlling deficits and unless there are large changes in fiscal policies we are firmly on a road to a fiscal...
The Role of Experts in Today's Political Climate
This speech was delivered before the Annual Meeting of the OECD Network of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions in Seoul, South Korea on July 4, 2018.
Harnessing The U.S. Intergovernmental Grant System for Place-Based Assistance In Recession and Recovery
American places are pulling apart from one another—economically, socially, and politically. Declining regional income convergence, increasing geographic concentration of joblessness, and an increasing awareness of the social costs of long-term joblessness and economic isolation have led many...
The Federal Budget Outlook: We Are Not Winning
In this article, Auerbach, Gale, and Krupkin discuss the federal budget outlook, examining long-term debt and the fiscal gap using recently updated data from the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security and Medicare boards of trustees.
Who Benefits from Expanding the EITC or CTC?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) missed an opportunity to help low-income childless workers, very low-income families with children, and families with young children – all groups where investments could be particularly productive. The child tax credit (CTC) and earned income tax credit (EITC)...
Distributional Implications of a Carbon Tax
In this paper, part of the Carbon Tax Research Initiative led by Columbia University’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy, we estimate how a carbon tax would affect the distribution of tax burdens across US taxpayers. We consider three carbon tax scenarios that would price carbon at roughly $14...
Evaluating Tax Expenditures
Increased demand for better use of evidence in policymaking has sparked bipartisan support for better evaluation of federal spending programs. Tax expenditures, spending-like subsidies embedded in the tax code, cost taxpayers roughly as much as domestic discretionary programs, yet receive little...
Policy Brief: Same-Sex Married Tax Filers after Windsor and Obergefell
Supreme Court rulings in 2013 and 2015 established and expanded rights to same-sex marriage in the U.S. One of the most visible and impactful ways the federal government recognized these new rights was by allowing—indeed, requiring—legally-married same-sex couples to file federal tax returns as...
Where Is the Budget Headed One Year into the Trump Administration?
After one year of the Trump administration, we assess the fiscal path implied by budget policies that the president and Congress have so far put in place. Using a new framework that holds lawmakers accountable for reforms taken and not taken, we project that over the coming decade, nearly all...