US fiscal policy has long been unsustainable, driven largely by automatically growing entitlement spending and insufficient revenues. Often overlooked is the extent to which this preordained fiscal policy limits policymakers’ discretion to act on new priorities each year. This study lays out...
We propose reducing the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and replacing the foregone revenue with a tax at ordinary income rates on the accrued, or mark-to-market, income of American shareholders of publicly traded corporations, accompanied by an imputation credit for U.S. corporate income taxes...
Economists widely advocate establishing a price on carbon as a central means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the risks of global climatic disruption and ocean acidification. To be sure, a price on carbon is necessarily one part of a broader climate policy portfolio that includes...
Former CBO director Doug Elmendorf recently argued that Congress should account for macroeconomic feedback when scoring major tax and spending policies. In this brief, Donald Marron agrees, arguing that CBO and JCT can implement such dynamic scoring in an objective, nonpartisan manner. Dynamic...
Many elected officials emphasize reforms that would promote opportunity, but until they define how success would be measured, progress is unlikely. The federal government is scheduled to spend close to $15,000 more per household annually in another 10 years, but little of that increase goes to...
Many elected officials emphasize reforms that would promote opportunity, but until they define how success would be measured, progress is unlikely. The federal government is scheduled to spend close to $15,000 more per household annually in another 10 years, but little of that increase goes to...
A longstanding concern of state and local governments is that a federal value-added tax (VAT) could shrink sales tax bases. But a federal VAT could have even bigger effects on other revenues and spending through changes in incomes, relative prices, and asset values. To illustrate the range of...
Many federal tax reform proposals would eliminate the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Although deficit reduction often is the rationale, there are arguments for eliminating the deduction based on economic efficiency, equity, and improved federal fiscal policy. Eliminating the deduction,...
The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center’s (TPC) microsimulation model produces revenue and distributional estimates of the US federal tax system. This paper describes a reweighting procedure that allows the model to be used for analyzing taxes at the state level. We construct state weights such...
Options to Restore More Discretion to the Federal Budget
US fiscal policy has long been unsustainable, driven largely by automatically growing entitlement spending and insufficient revenues. Often overlooked is the extent to which this preordained fiscal policy limits policymakers’ discretion to act on new priorities each year. This study lays out...
Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds and the Financing of Professional Sports Stadiums
This report takes an investigative look at federal revenue spent on professional sports stadiums. Visit the Brookings Institution's website to try...
Replacing Corporate Revenues with a Mark-to-Market Tax on Shareholder Income
We propose reducing the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and replacing the foregone revenue with a tax at ordinary income rates on the accrued, or mark-to-market, income of American shareholders of publicly traded corporations, accompanied by an imputation credit for U.S. corporate income taxes...
11 Essential Questions for Designing a Policy to Price Carbon
Economists widely advocate establishing a price on carbon as a central means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the risks of global climatic disruption and ocean acidification. To be sure, a price on carbon is necessarily one part of a broader climate policy portfolio that includes...
Thoughts on Dynamic Scoring of Fiscal Policies
Former CBO director Doug Elmendorf recently argued that Congress should account for macroeconomic feedback when scoring major tax and spending policies. In this brief, Donald Marron agrees, arguing that CBO and JCT can implement such dynamic scoring in an objective, nonpartisan manner. Dynamic...
Prioritizing Opportunity for All in the Federal Budget: Executive Summary
Many elected officials emphasize reforms that would promote opportunity, but until they define how success would be measured, progress is unlikely. The federal government is scheduled to spend close to $15,000 more per household annually in another 10 years, but little of that increase goes to...
Prioritizing Opportunity for All in the Federal Budget: A Key to Both Growth in and Greater Equality of Earnings and Wealth
Many elected officials emphasize reforms that would promote opportunity, but until they define how success would be measured, progress is unlikely. The federal government is scheduled to spend close to $15,000 more per household annually in another 10 years, but little of that increase goes to...
Effects of a Federal Value-Added Tax on State and Local Budgets
A longstanding concern of state and local governments is that a federal value-added tax (VAT) could shrink sales tax bases. But a federal VAT could have even bigger effects on other revenues and spending through changes in incomes, relative prices, and asset values. To illustrate the range of...
Revisiting the State and Local Tax Deduction
Many federal tax reform proposals would eliminate the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Although deficit reduction often is the rationale, there are arguments for eliminating the deduction based on economic efficiency, equity, and improved federal fiscal policy. Eliminating the deduction,...
Incorporating State Analysis into the Tax Policy Center's Microsimulation Model: Documentation and Methodology
The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center’s (TPC) microsimulation model produces revenue and distributional estimates of the US federal tax system. This paper describes a reweighting procedure that allows the model to be used for analyzing taxes at the state level. We construct state weights such...