State and Local Issues: Brief

How Broad Are State Sales Tax Bases?

This chartbook compares the breadth of general sales and excise tax bases across the states. It categorizes detailed personal consumption expenditures (as measured in the Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Products Accounts) by their tax treatment in each state and the District of
April 19, 2021Nikhita AiriFrank Sammartino
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Too Many IRS Audits of Big Businesses Result In No Change In Tax Liability

Change can be good, right? Maybe or maybe not. But if you are the Internal Revenue Service, “no change” audits never are good. And, for...
April 19, 2021Janet Holtzblatt
: Daily Deduction

Another SALT Request, State Rebate Funding, and Tax Bills

More calls to cut the SALT.
April 19, 2021Renu Zaretsky
In 2018, income from partnership and S-corporation businesses comprised nearly a quarter of adjusted gross income (AGI) for those with AGI over $1 million, compared to 1% for those with AGI under $100,000.
April 19, 2021
: Daily Deduction

Oversight, Disbursements, and Compromises

Treasury announces oversight office for COVID-19 relief programs…
April 16, 2021Renu Zaretsky
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Delivering Tax Benefits to People Who Are Experiencing Homelessness

By approving a third round of economic impact payments (EIPs) and expanding refundability of the Child Tax Credit, Congress has made refundable tax credits a...
April 15, 2021Elaine MaagPeace GwamSonia Torres Rodríguez
Federal Budget and Economy: Virtual Event

The Prescription: Fiscal Policy for the COVID-19 Economy with Nina Olson

This week’s guest: Nina Olson, Executive Director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and former National Taxpayer Advocate The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) is...
April 15, 2021
: Daily Deduction

A Retirement And A Possible GOP Infrastructure Alternative

Top Ways & Means Republican Brady won’t run for re-election.
April 15, 2021Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Collections, Sooner or Later

IRS Commissioner Rettig: Up to $1 trillion in taxes are uncollected annually.
April 14, 2021Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Big Problems, Big Spending, Bigger Backlash?

Talks begin on President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure bill.
April 13, 2021Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Will the IRS Get What It Needs?

President Biden proposes a $1.2 billion IRS budget hike.
April 12, 2021Renu Zaretsky
Most US businesses are classified as pass-through businesses whose owners pay the individual income tax, not the corporate income tax. In 2017, pass-throughs comprised 96% of all business tax returns and 41% of business receipts.
April 12, 2021
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

How Biden’s No-Tax Pledge Could Sink His Climate Change Initiative

Nowhere is President Biden’s ambitious policy agenda more in conflict than in his triple aim of funding a major infrastructure initiative , attacking climate change...
April 9, 2021Howard Gleckman
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Build Back a Better Revenue Base with Environmental Taxes

Once the US economy recovers from the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government will need significant additional revenues to reduce its ballooning deficit. Congress and President...
April 7, 2021Thornton Matheson
Federal Budget and Economy: Donald C. Lubick Symposium

Can the Internal Revenue Service Administer a Complicated Tax System on Its Budget?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) faces extraordinary challenges in administering a complicated tax code—challenges made more daunting by a decade of large cuts in funding...
April 7, 2021
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Should All Families Receive the Child Tax Credit?

Last month, my parents received their third round of economic impact payments through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). They decided to turn the proceeds into their own "stimulus payments" for their seven grandchildren.
April 7, 2021Renu Zaretsky
Business Taxes: TaxVox

If Congress Wants the IRS To Collect More Tax from The Rich, It Needs to Pass Better Laws

Last week, a group of prominent academic and government economists published a study that estimated the top 1 percent of Americans hide more than 20...
April 5, 2021Steven M. Rosenthal
: Daily Deduction

SALT, Tax Hikes, and Complications

Will there be a SALT-free infrastructure bill?
April 5, 2021Renu Zaretsky
In 2018, state and local governments collected $7.5 billion from alcohol taxes, or $23 per capita across the nation. Alabama, Alaska, and Tennessee were the only states to collect over $50 per capita from alcohol taxes.
April 5, 2021
Federal Budget and Economy: Virtual Event

The Prescription: Fiscal Policy for the COVID-19 Economy with Joel Slemrod and Michael Keen

This week’s guests: Joel Slemrod and Michael Keen, authors of the new book “Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue.” The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) is holding...
April 1, 2021
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Biden Follows Through on His Campaign Promise of Big Tax Hikes on US Corporations

Biden Follows Through On His Campaign Promise Of Big Tax Hikes on US Corporations US-based multinational corporations can’t say they were not warned. President Biden...
March 31, 2021Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Congress Missed the Mark When It Made Some Unemployment Benefits Tax-Free But Reduced Future Assistance

When Congress enacted the American Rescue Plan (ARP), it included an implicit deal: It agreed to reduce the level of additional future weekly federal unemployment...
March 31, 2021C. Eugene SteuerleGordon B. MerminNoah Zwiefel
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

How Well Is the IRS Implementing A Retroactive Unemployment Benefit Tax Break?

By including in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) a provision to exempt up to $10,200 of last year’s unemployment benefits from federal income tax, Congress...
March 30, 2021Janet Holtzblatt
: Brief

How Additional Cash Payments Would Reduce Poverty

Four major policies in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will reduce the number of people in poverty in 2021 from 44 million to 28 million – shrinking the overall poverty rate from 13.7 percent to 8.7 percent. Additional $1,400 payments could further reduce poverty to between 6.4 and 6.6 percent,
March 30, 2021Elaine MaagKevin Werner
State and Local Issues: Research report

State Tax and Economic Review, 2020 Quarter 3

States Reported Revenue Growth in July–September Quarter, Reflecting Revenue Shifts from the Prior Quarter
States reported robust revenue growth in the third quarter of 2020, a reversal of steep declines in the second quarter that mostly reflects shifting income tax filing deadlines. Over a six-month period (April through September 2020), state revenues declined 2.0 percent compared to the same period
March 29, 2021Lucy Dadayan