State tax revenues showed continued growth in the first half of fiscal year 2020. State government tax revenues from major sources showed solid year-over-year growth at 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Preliminary data show strong growth in January and February before declines in March...
We examine how proposals to modify and expand the EITC would change its impacts during economic downturns. Using components from the Economic Security Project’s Cost-of-Living Refund, we identify three main effects. First, accelerating the credit phase-in (or eliminating it entirely) would...
Federal tax law provides substantial tax incentives for retirement saving. These include the deferral of taxes on contributions to retirement savings accounts by employers, employees, and self-employed taxpayers and the earnings on these contributions until the funds are withdrawn in retirement...
In this report, we compare revenue equivalent alternatives to the $10,000 annual limit on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). We consider options that would limit all itemized deductions, not just the SALT deduction, and an additional option...
On March 30, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. The president submitted this budget on February 10, 2020, when the pandemic was in its early stages in the US and before the enactment of major relief bills in...
The global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak will dramatically affect state tax revenues over the next months and possibly years. This brief summarizes how state revenue forecasters viewed their state economies before the COVID-19 pandemic, as documented in governors’ proposed...
As the potential economic impact of a global pandemic starts to crystalize, there has rightly been a lot of discussion about how individuals and businesses will fare—and what governments can do to support them. But what will happen to government finances? In particular, what happens to U.S....
In January, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its first economic and budgetary outlook of the decade. Even prior to the recent COVID-19 crisis, along with its attendant impact on the budget, CBO projected a deficit of more than $1 trillion for fiscal year 2020. The federal budget is...
In this brief, we estimate the revenue and distributional effects of Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign tax proposals. We show the revenue and distributional implications of tax proposals excluding those related to his Medicare for All plan. We also report the revenue estimates (but not the...
In this brief, we estimate the revenue and distributional effects of former vice president Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign tax proposals, based on information released by the Biden campaign and conversations with campaign staff. We analyze Biden’s proposals as of February 23, 2020...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2019 Quarter 4
State tax revenues showed continued growth in the first half of fiscal year 2020. State government tax revenues from major sources showed solid year-over-year growth at 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Preliminary data show strong growth in January and February before declines in March...
Design Changes Can Strengthen the EITC During Recessions
We examine how proposals to modify and expand the EITC would change its impacts during economic downturns. Using components from the Economic Security Project’s Cost-of-Living Refund, we identify three main effects. First, accelerating the credit phase-in (or eliminating it entirely) would...
Tax Incentives for Retirement Savings
Federal tax law provides substantial tax incentives for retirement saving. These include the deferral of taxes on contributions to retirement savings accounts by employers, employees, and self-employed taxpayers and the earnings on these contributions until the funds are withdrawn in retirement...
Alternatives to the TCJA Limit on the State and Local Tax Deduction
In this report, we compare revenue equivalent alternatives to the $10,000 annual limit on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). We consider options that would limit all itemized deductions, not just the SALT deduction, and an additional option...
The President’s Budget Priorities and the COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 30, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. The president submitted this budget on February 10, 2020, when the pandemic was in its early stages in the US and before the enactment of major relief bills in...
State Revenue Forecasts Before COVID-19 and Directions Forward
The global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak will dramatically affect state tax revenues over the next months and possibly years. This brief summarizes how state revenue forecasters viewed their state economies before the COVID-19 pandemic, as documented in governors’ proposed...
How to Shore Up State and Local Budgets during a Coronavirus Recession
As the potential economic impact of a global pandemic starts to crystalize, there has rightly been a lot of discussion about how individuals and businesses will fare—and what governments can do to support them. But what will happen to government finances? In particular, what happens to U.S....
The Decade of Deficits: The Latest Ominous Projections from the Congressional Budget Office
In January, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its first economic and budgetary outlook of the decade. Even prior to the recent COVID-19 crisis, along with its attendant impact on the budget, CBO projected a deficit of more than $1 trillion for fiscal year 2020. The federal budget is...
An Analysis of Senator Sanders's Tax Proposals
In this brief, we estimate the revenue and distributional effects of Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign tax proposals. We show the revenue and distributional implications of tax proposals excluding those related to his Medicare for All plan. We also report the revenue estimates (but not the...
An Analysis of Former Vice President Biden’s Tax Proposals
In this brief, we estimate the revenue and distributional effects of former vice president Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign tax proposals, based on information released by the Biden campaign and conversations with campaign staff. We analyze Biden’s proposals as of February 23, 2020...