This paper summarizes major individual and corporate tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), traces its origins, and compares its changes to previous tax changes. We examine its effects on the budget, economic activity, and distribution of resources. Based on evidence through...
In a pending Supreme Court case, Moore v. United States, the plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposing a transition tax on certain undistributed foreign profits of US taxpayers. The outcome of this case may severely constrain the...
Although the US tax code does not explicitly reference race or ethnicity, the federal income tax system contributes to racial disparities when factors that affect tax liabilities are correlated with race. This study is the first to use the Tax Policy Center’s microsimulation model—newly enhanced...
This comment letter to the US Senate Finance Committee addresses the tax treatment of cryptocurrency staking. Stakers validate blockchain transactions and receive compensation for that work in the form of more cryptocurrency tokens. They should pay ordinary income taxes on the rewards they...
In 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the largest inflation adjustment in decades. This brief reviews the history of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and federal income taxes, including the indexing of the tax code in the early 1980s. It also describes the chained CPI, which is...
This working paper describes the method the Tax Policy Center (TPC) has used to enhance its tax microsimulation model to enable analysis of the distributional effects of tax policies by race and ethnicity. It also presents preliminary results using the enhanced model. Like microsimulation models...
Both the US and the UK experienced dramatic slowdowns in economic activity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each enacted large-scale responses targeted at workers, and in addition, the US extended direct cash aid broadly through economic impact payments (EIPs) and then to most parents with...
Sweeping Changes and an Uncertain Legacy
This paper summarizes major individual and corporate tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), traces its origins, and compares its changes to previous tax changes. We examine its effects on the budget, economic activity, and distribution of resources. Based on evidence through...
The Potential Economic Consequences of Disallowing the Taxation of Unrealized Income
In a pending Supreme Court case, Moore v. United States, the plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposing a transition tax on certain undistributed foreign profits of US taxpayers. The outcome of this case may severely constrain the...
Racial Disparities in the Treatment of Capital Income in the Federal Individual Income Tax
Although the US tax code does not explicitly reference race or ethnicity, the federal income tax system contributes to racial disparities when factors that affect tax liabilities are correlated with race. This study is the first to use the Tax Policy Center’s microsimulation model—newly enhanced...
Balancing the Need for Tax Fairness with the Unique Characteristics of Cryptocurrencies
This comment letter to the US Senate Finance Committee addresses the tax treatment of cryptocurrency staking. Stakers validate blockchain transactions and receive compensation for that work in the form of more cryptocurrency tokens. They should pay ordinary income taxes on the rewards they...
An Analysis of the Updated Graetz Proposal to Enact a Broad Reform of the Federal Tax System
Incorporating Intangibles into TPC Effective Tax Rate Models
Deconstructing the Fair Tax
Adjusting the Individual Income Tax for Inflation
In 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the largest inflation adjustment in decades. This brief reviews the history of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and federal income taxes, including the indexing of the tax code in the early 1980s. It also describes the chained CPI, which is...
A New Approach for Estimating the Impact of Tax Policies by Race and Ethnicity
This working paper describes the method the Tax Policy Center (TPC) has used to enhance its tax microsimulation model to enable analysis of the distributional effects of tax policies by race and ethnicity. It also presents preliminary results using the enhanced model. Like microsimulation models...
Weathering the Economic Storm of Covid-19
Both the US and the UK experienced dramatic slowdowns in economic activity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each enacted large-scale responses targeted at workers, and in addition, the US extended direct cash aid broadly through economic impact payments (EIPs) and then to most parents with...