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Tax Policy Center

Research & Commentary

Working paper
Federal Budget and Economy

Taxation and the Origins of the Constitution

In the years following the American Revolution, the states and Congress struggled to pay down the domestic debt, which had consolidated in the hands of wealthy speculators. With a serious money shortage in the countryside, small farmers found they could not pay their taxes – and many were angry...

July 18, 2022
Vanessa Williamson
Commentary
Individual Taxes

To Reduce Inequality, Tax Inheritances

Prospects for wealth taxes are poor, in part because the wealthy have shown themselves quite able, with the help of current campaign finance laws, to shape tax legislation in their own interest. Fortunately, a better alternative is available — taxing inheritances. This brief describes how such a...

November 19, 2019
Henry J. Aaron
Brief
Individual Taxes

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.

November 12, 2019
Robert McClellandC. Eugene SteuerleChenxi LuAravind Boddupalli
Brief
Individual Taxes

Roth IRAs Versus Traditional IRAs: Implications for Individuals and Government

This policy brief summarizes the impact of traditional individual retirement accounts and Roth individual retirement accounts on personal choices and on government finances. Although the accounts are equivalent under certain circumstances, in practice they often differ in important ways for both...

September 5, 2019
Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. GaleAaron Krupkin
Research report
Business Taxes

How Shifting from Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs Affects Personal and Government Finances

In this report, we examine the different ways that Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and traditional IRAs affect their investors and the government. People who want to shelter more income per dollar deposited in the account, provide larger bequests, or eliminate uncertainty about how...

September 5, 2019
Leonard E. BurmanWilliam G. GaleAaron Krupkin
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
Commentary
Federal Budget and Economy

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...

August 2, 2017
William G. Gale
Research report
Individual Taxes

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...

April 21, 2016
James R. NunnsEric Toder
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

The Distributional Burden of Federal Excise Taxes

The federal tax system imposes a number of excise taxes on goods and services such as gasoline, alcohol, tobacco, air travel, and health care. In fiscal year 2014, the federal government raised $93.4 billion or 0.5 percent of GDP from excise taxes, accounting for about 3 percent of total federal...

September 2, 2015
Joseph Rosenberg
Research report
Individual Taxes

SOI Releases New Data From Form W-2

Newly released W-2 data from the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division of IRS describe in detail the wages and retirement contributions of workers from 2008 through 2010. SOI economists Kevin Pierce and Jon Gober provide an overview of the data and compare them with (much less detailed) data for...

October 7, 2013
James R. Nunns
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