: TaxVox

Tax Protests and Business Boycotts: History Repeats, Maybe.

Independence Day has me thinking about tax protests. One, in Boston, shaped our nation’s history. Another is still taking shape in Seattle. Both reflect our complicated relationship with taxes and those who levy them. But that’s where similarities end. If you were a taxpayer participating in either, what might you do?
June 6, 2018Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Tariffs, Technical Corrections, and Tax Dialogue

Senator Bob Corker introduces legislation to slow Trump’s tariff train.
June 6, 2018Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Brief

Where Is the Budget Headed One Year into the Trump Administration?

After one year of the Trump administration, we assess the fiscal path implied by budget policies that the president and Congress have so far put in place. Using a new framework that holds lawmakers accountable for reforms taken and not taken, we project that over the coming decade, nearly all
June 6, 2018C. Eugene SteuerleCaleb Quakenbush
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Are Peruvian Chickens Cash?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is plagued by a recurrent problem: Many parts of the law tax similar income or assets at different...
June 5, 2018Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Why Government Budget Estimates Are Often Wrong

Government budget and tax analysts who estimate future federal revenues and spending are among the most talented people I know. They probably are a lot...
June 5, 2018C. Eugene Steuerle
: Daily Deduction

Impacts, Improvements, and International Intrigue

“There’s gotta be a better way….”
June 5, 2018Renu Zaretsky
Federal Budget and Economy: Research report

Social Security and Medicare Lifetime Benefits and Taxes: 2017 Update

These tables show the expected present value at age 65 of benefits received in retirement and taxes paid over a career for households with different wage and marriage histories. The underlying data come from the Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In
June 5, 2018C. Eugene SteuerleCaleb Quakenbush
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Eliminate The Deduction For Qualified Business Income And Require Most Firms To Be Taxed As Pass-Throughs

The most problematic provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) may be its 20 percent deduction for qualified business income (QBI) of owners...
June 4, 2018Eric Toder
: Daily Deduction

Cutting Off the Nose to Spite the Face

The TCJA: Not ideal reform; no boon for the economy.
June 4, 2018Renu Zaretsky
More than 44 million returns claimed the State and Local Tax Deduction in 2015, with a national average amount of about $12,500. The average deduction exceeded $10,000 in twenty states and $15,000 in six states. Starting in 2018, the deduction is capped at $10,000 per return.
June 4, 2018
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Trump’s Trade and Immigration Policies Could Wipe Out Any Benefits Of The TCJA

President Trump and his allies in Congress promised that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would supercharge the US economy, leading to permanent annual...
June 1, 2018Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

The Nation’s Partisan Divide Is Infecting Tax Policy

“Don’t tax me, don’t tax thee, tax that fella behind the tree.” This bit of doggerel, attributed to the late Senate Finance Committee Chairman Russell...
May 30, 2018Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Fell Short in a Variety of Ways, Analysts Argue

Participants at a May 23 event on the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on economic growth broadly agreed that the 2017...
May 29, 2018Benjamin R. Page
: Daily Deduction

Teasing, Waiting, and Failing

Talk of auto tariffs teases more trade war tensions.
May 29, 2018Renu Zaretsky
Total tax revenue as a share of GDP was 26% for the United States in 2015, compared to the OECD’s weighted average of 33%. The United States ranked 30th out of 35 OECD countries and below all others in the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and United Kingdom).
May 28, 2018
: Daily Deduction

Baby Steps, Careful Steps

"Minibuses" on the Hill.
May 25, 2018Renu Zaretsky
State and Local Issues: Brief

Measuring the “Charitability” of Hospitals: Putting Meat on the Bones of the Grassley-Hatch Request

On February 15, 2018, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) requested specific information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on its oversight activities of nonprofit hospitals. In this brief, to provide evidence well beyond what the IRS considers, I present a new tool that
May 25, 2018C. Eugene Steuerle
: TaxVox

New Gun And Ammo Taxes Sound Like Promising Ways To Reduce Gun Violence. But There Are Problems.

The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 2018 , introduced in Congress after February’s Parkland FL school shooting, would increase federal excise taxes...
May 24, 2018Robert McClelland
: Daily Deduction

If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck…

The IRS warns states about one SALT workaround.
May 24, 2018Renu Zaretsky
Federal Budget and Economy: Research report

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Missed Opportunity to Establish a Sustainable Tax Code

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 leaves many promises of tax reform unfulfilled. In this paper, we examine the plan’s prospects to boost future growth, and discuss fundamental reforms that would boost the stock of capital and generate sustained, long-term growth. After making the case that the
May 24, 2018Benjamin H. HarrisAdam Looney
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Has Uncertainty Undercut the TCJA’s Promised Investment Benefits?

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act significantly cuts taxes for US corporations, it may have created so much uncertainty that the promised benefits of...
May 23, 2018Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: Conference

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Boost to Growth or a Missed Opportunity?

A recording of the webcast will be posted shortly. Nearly everyone agrees that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the most consequential tax bill in decades, but there is little agreement on its merits. Proponents claim it will substantially boost business investment and economic growth. Opponents claim it will raise the level of federal debt and is poorly designed to stimulate new private-sector investment. Almost five months into the new year, how do the predictions made last fall about the TCJA’s effects look? And how can Congress improve the tax code to promote economic growth? Join the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the Kellogg School of Management for an in-depth discussion about the early evidence on economic growth and the prospects for growth from the new law.
May 23, 2018
: Daily Deduction

Moving Along, Owing Zero, and Targeting Little

Senate Finance Committee says farewell to long-time staffer Mark Prater.
May 23, 2018
State and Local Issues: TaxVox

Did Governors Target Opportunity Zones To Disinvested Communities?

Based on recommendations by the nation’s governors, the Treasury Department and IRS have designated Opportunity Zones where corporations and individuals with capital gains will receive...
May 22, 2018Brett TheodosBrady Meixell
: Daily Deduction

Forecasts for Economic Growth: Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny?

Tune in tomorrow morning for TCJA talk.
May 22, 2018Renu Zaretsky