C. Eugene Steuerle gave testimony on the taxation of carried interest before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. He notes among his findings that as a matter of both efficiency and equity, capital gains relief is best targeted where tax rates are high, as in the case of the double...
The AMT threatens to grow from a footnote in the tax code to a major scourge affecting tens of millions of taxpayers every year. The practice in recent years has been to patch the AMT every year or two on a temporary basis so that not too many people are affected. The latest patch expired at the...
The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally designed to limit the amount of tax sheltering and to assure that high-income filers paid at least some tax. The current AMT, however, has strayed from those original goals and under current law the tax will affect over 23 million...
When President Bush announced his appointment of Henry Paulson of Goldman Sachs as Treasury Secretary, the press quickly popped the obvious question to former Treasury officials like me: "Why would he want to be secretary, especially this late in a president's tenure?"
This report summarizes the two options for reforming the tax system proposed by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, offers a preliminary evaluation of the proposals, and discusses the overall effect on revenue, distribution, and growth.
The IRS does not administer well items for which it does not have information reporting. Extending information reporting to most charitable contributions would simplify life for most individual givers, improve compliance, and likely be better for the charitable sector as well. An improved...
Eugene Steuerle suggests one ripe area for expanded reporting involving capital gains, particularly from mutual funds and brokerage houses. The IRS could match net gains from information reports with what taxpayers report on their returns, taxpayers would not be faced with multiple choices, they...
In recent years, the percentage of individual taxpayers using paid preparers and software has increased, while the share of taxpayers who self-prepare without software has dropped sharply. Using the Individual Taxpayer Burden Model developed by IBM Business Consulting Services for the IRS, we...
Leonard Burman's testimony, submitted to the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, focuses on both the original minimum tax and its successor, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). Both the minimum tax and the AMT have applied in the past to a small minority of...
Tax Reform, Tax Arbitrage, and the Taxation of "Carried Interest"
C. Eugene Steuerle gave testimony on the taxation of carried interest before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. He notes among his findings that as a matter of both efficiency and equity, capital gains relief is best targeted where tax rates are high, as in the case of the double...
The Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
The AMT threatens to grow from a footnote in the tax code to a major scourge affecting tens of millions of taxpayers every year. The practice in recent years has been to patch the AMT every year or two on a temporary basis so that not too many people are affected. The latest patch expired at the...
Options to Fix the AMT
The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was originally designed to limit the amount of tax sheltering and to assure that high-income filers paid at least some tax. The current AMT, however, has strayed from those original goals and under current law the tax will affect over 23 million...
Paulsonibilities
When President Bush announced his appointment of Henry Paulson of Goldman Sachs as Treasury Secretary, the press quickly popped the obvious question to former Treasury officials like me: "Why would he want to be secretary, especially this late in a president's tenure?"
A Preliminary Evaluation of the Tax Reform Panel's Report
This report summarizes the two options for reforming the tax system proposed by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, offers a preliminary evaluation of the proposals, and discusses the overall effect on revenue, distribution, and growth.
Consumption Taxes in the United States and Abroad
The United States collects much less revenue in consumption taxes than do other OECD countries.
Expanded Information Reporting For Charitable Giving
The IRS does not administer well items for which it does not have information reporting. Extending information reporting to most charitable contributions would simplify life for most individual givers, improve compliance, and likely be better for the charitable sector as well. An improved...
Improved Information Reporting for Capital Gains
Eugene Steuerle suggests one ripe area for expanded reporting involving capital gains, particularly from mutual funds and brokerage houses. The IRS could match net gains from information reports with what taxpayers report on their returns, taxpayers would not be faced with multiple choices, they...
The Effects of Tax Software and Paid Preparers on Compliance Costs
In recent years, the percentage of individual taxpayers using paid preparers and software has increased, while the share of taxpayers who self-prepare without software has dropped sharply. Using the Individual Taxpayer Burden Model developed by IBM Business Consulting Services for the IRS, we...
The Expanding Reach of the Individual Alternative Minimum Tax
Leonard Burman's testimony, submitted to the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, focuses on both the original minimum tax and its successor, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). Both the minimum tax and the AMT have applied in the past to a small minority of...