The Statistics of Income division of the Internal Revenue Service releases an annual public-use file of individual income tax returns that is invaluable to tax analysts in government agencies, nonprofit research organizations, and the private sector. However, the Statistics of Income division...
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...
This chartbook explores the implications of current-law income tax incentives for charitable donations along with several alternatives for tax deductions that are more universally available.
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...
Distributional analyses play a prominent role in policy discussions. Both tax and transfer policy have important distributional consequences, but traditionally they have been examined separately. This report describes a new methodology for integrated distributional analysis that imports results...
The Tax Policy Center (TPC) prepared revenue and distributional estimates of a proposal to replace the current tax benefits for defined contribution (DC) qualified retirement plans with a new Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA). TPC estimates that the proposal would reduce federal income and...
Bill Gale discusses the current tax reform initiatives by Congress and the Administration and outlines some issues Republicans may face when trying to pass tax legislation in this...
This paper gives an overview of the TPC’s methodology for dynamic analysis of tax proposals. Following the practice of official government estimators, we use a Keynesian model to estimate the short-term effects of policy changes on output relative to its full-employment level. That model assumes...
This report considers three options for restructuring the home mortgage interest deduction – replacing the deduction with a 15 percent non-refundable interest credit, reducing the ceiling on debt eligible for an interest subsidy to $500,000, and combining the substitution of the credit for the...
Bad framing of fiscal policy contributes to a poor allocation of money collected and spent. Almost all real growth in government goes automatically to health, retirement and tax subsidies, while spending on children, the work force, and infrastructure are scheduled for decline as a share of...
A Synthetic Supplemental Public-Use File of Low-Income Information Return Data: Methodology, Utility, and Privacy Implications
The Statistics of Income division of the Internal Revenue Service releases an annual public-use file of individual income tax returns that is invaluable to tax analysts in government agencies, nonprofit research organizations, and the private sector. However, the Statistics of Income division...
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...
Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions
This chartbook explores the implications of current-law income tax incentives for charitable donations along with several alternatives for tax deductions that are more universally available.
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...
A Methodology for Integrated Distributional Analysis of Taxes and Transfers
Distributional analyses play a prominent role in policy discussions. Both tax and transfer policy have important distributional consequences, but traditionally they have been examined separately. This report describes a new methodology for integrated distributional analysis that imports results...
Estimates of a Proposal to Establish Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, Financed by Reduced Limits on Current Law Contributions to Defined Contribution Retirement Saving Plans
The Tax Policy Center (TPC) prepared revenue and distributional estimates of a proposal to replace the current tax benefits for defined contribution (DC) qualified retirement plans with a new Guaranteed Retirement Account (GRA). TPC estimates that the proposal would reduce federal income and...
Can Republicans Thread the Needle on Tax Policy?
Bill Gale discusses the current tax reform initiatives by Congress and the Administration and outlines some issues Republicans may face when trying to pass tax legislation in this...
Dynamic Analysis of Tax Plans: An Update
This paper gives an overview of the TPC’s methodology for dynamic analysis of tax proposals. Following the practice of official government estimators, we use a Keynesian model to estimate the short-term effects of policy changes on output relative to its full-employment level. That model assumes...
Effects of Reforms of the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction by Income Group and by State
This report considers three options for restructuring the home mortgage interest deduction – replacing the deduction with a 15 percent non-refundable interest credit, reducing the ceiling on debt eligible for an interest subsidy to $500,000, and combining the substitution of the credit for the...
How Budget Offices Should Reframe Our Long-Term Budget Problems
Bad framing of fiscal policy contributes to a poor allocation of money collected and spent. Almost all real growth in government goes automatically to health, retirement and tax subsidies, while spending on children, the work force, and infrastructure are scheduled for decline as a share of...