Federal tax law provides several tax benefits for homeowners. This chartbook focuses on the home mortgage interest deduction. We provide updated estimates of the distributional effects of the home mortgage interest deduction, show how those estimates could change if people pay down their home...
The rise of the gig economy has increased interest in the self-employment sector and highlighted the benefits and costs of these types of jobs. One understudied issue is that self-employment (which overlaps substantially with the gig economy) concerns a part of the tax code that is difficult for...
State government tax revenues rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 after declines in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, year-over-year growth was substantially weaker in the first quarter of 2019 than in the final quarter of 2017 and the first three quarters of 2018. Most of the recent...
This report analyzes the main provisions of the federal income tax code that provide benefits to families with children, comparing current law with what would be happening had the TCJA not been enacted, and discusses the TCJA’s implications for families of different income levels. On net, almost...
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
The cost-of-living refund (CLR), a proposal from the Economic Security Project, would revise the current earned income tax credit (EITC) by increasing benefits for many people, expanding eligibility for the credit, and paying the credit in advance via monthly payments. The proposal would provide...
This report analyzes a straightforward mechanism to mitigate middle-class wage stagnation: a wage tax credit of 100 percent of earnings up to a maximum credit of $10,000, called a universal earned income tax credit. The child tax credit would increase from $2,000 to $2,500 and be made fully...
The Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018 extends major individual income and estate tax provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The bill would reduce federal revenues by $631 billion within the budget window (...
When a recession hits, the federal government usually responds with tax cuts and additional financial assistance, because automatic policies built into the law often prove inadequate and elected officials need and want to respond to the crisis. This brief compares the distributional and stimulus...
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...
Effects of Tax Incentives on Homeownership
Federal tax law provides several tax benefits for homeowners. This chartbook focuses on the home mortgage interest deduction. We provide updated estimates of the distributional effects of the home mortgage interest deduction, show how those estimates could change if people pay down their home...
Self-Employment Patterns for Men and Women and Implications for Tax Compliance
The rise of the gig economy has increased interest in the self-employment sector and highlighted the benefits and costs of these types of jobs. One understudied issue is that self-employment (which overlaps substantially with the gig economy) concerns a part of the tax code that is difficult for...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2019 Quarter 1
State government tax revenues rebounded in the first quarter of 2019 after declines in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, year-over-year growth was substantially weaker in the first quarter of 2019 than in the final quarter of 2017 and the first three quarters of 2018. Most of the recent...
Shifting Child Tax Benefits in the TCJA Left Most Families About the Same
This report analyzes the main provisions of the federal income tax code that provide benefits to families with children, comparing current law with what would be happening had the TCJA not been enacted, and discusses the TCJA’s implications for families of different income levels. On net, almost...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2018 Quarter 4
State government tax revenues from major sources declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017, mostly because of declines in state income tax revenues. The declines in income tax collection are partially attributable to the disappearing impact of incentives...
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit: The Economic Security Project’s Cost-of-Living Refund
The cost-of-living refund (CLR), a proposal from the Economic Security Project, would revise the current earned income tax credit (EITC) by increasing benefits for many people, expanding eligibility for the credit, and paying the credit in advance via monthly payments. The proposal would provide...
A Universal EITC: Sharing the Gains from Economic Growth, Encouraging Work, and Supporting Families
This report analyzes a straightforward mechanism to mitigate middle-class wage stagnation: a wage tax credit of 100 percent of earnings up to a maximum credit of $10,000, called a universal earned income tax credit. The child tax credit would increase from $2,000 to $2,500 and be made fully...
Analysis of the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018
The Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018 extends major individual income and estate tax provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The bill would reduce federal revenues by $631 billion within the budget window (...
Helping Workers during Recessions
When a recession hits, the federal government usually responds with tax cuts and additional financial assistance, because automatic policies built into the law often prove inadequate and elected officials need and want to respond to the crisis. This brief compares the distributional and stimulus...
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...