: Daily Deduction

There are audits, and there are investigations.

Maybe lawsuits and unpaid bills are the reason Donald Trump won’t release his tax returns.
May 20, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Wyden Pursues Tax Reform for Derivatives, which is Long Overdue

Yesterday, top Senate Finance Committee Democrat Ron Wyden proposed major changes in the taxation of financial derivatives, contracts such as swaps, options, and forwards that derive their value from an underlying asset or index. The key to his proposal is a requirement that dealers annually mark-
May 19, 2016Steven M. Rosenthal
: Daily Deduction

Deriving more tax revenue from derivatives.

Top Senate Finance Committee Democrat Ron Wyden wants to simplify tax treatment of derivatives.
May 19, 2016Renu Zaretsky
State and Local Issues: TaxVox

States should answer a few questions before taxing e-cigarettes

State and local governments often use taxes to influence consumer behavior. They subsidize conduct they like. California offers a rebate for buying zero-emission vehicles . And they penalize behavior they do not through corrective or sin taxes . The District of Columbia (DC) levies a 5-cent tax on
May 18, 2016Richard C. Auxier
: Daily Deduction

A plan to deduct corporate dividends, most of which are not taxed twice.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch says he’ll propose a corporate integration plan within weeks.
May 18, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Business Taxes: TaxVox

How A New Picture of Corporate Shareholders May Turn the Tax Debate Upside Down

Yesterday, my Tax Policy Center colleagues Steve Rosenthal and Lydia Austin published new research that could dramatically change the way we think about corporate taxes. They found that only about one-quarter of corporate stock is held by tax-paying investors—about half of what experts generally
May 17, 2016Howard Gleckman
: Daily Deduction

How big a problem is the double taxation of corporate income?

The share of taxable US corporate stock is a lot smaller than we thought.
May 17, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Business Taxes: Testimony

Integrating the Corporate and Individual Tax Systems: The Dividends Paid Deduction Considered

This testimony describes how taxes on corporate earnings have dropped because of corporate moves to avoid taxes and because of shareholder shifts from taxable to nontaxable accounts. Secondly, the testimony describes how a lower estimate of the taxable share of US stock complicates attempts to
May 17, 2016Steven M. Rosenthal
Business Taxes: TaxVox

Only About One-Quarter of Corporate Stock is owned by Taxable Shareholders.

Only about one-quarter of U.S. corporate stock is held in taxable accounts, far less than most researchers and policymakers thought.
May 16, 2016Steven M. Rosenthal
: Daily Deduction

Fairness, Impeachment, Sharing, and Cuts

Tomorrow on the Hill.
May 16, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Business Taxes: Journal Article

The Dwindling Taxable Share Of U.S. Corporate Stock

In this report, Rosenthal and Austin demonstrate that the share of U.S. stocks held by taxable accounts has declined sharply over the last 50 years, and they urge lawmakers to carefully consider this shareholder base erosion when determining how best to tax corporate earnings.
May 16, 2016Steven M. RosenthalLydia Austin
: Daily Deduction

A Cap, a Wait, a Wiggle, and Reports

Can tax credits and other programs cap a family’s cost of child care?
May 13, 2016Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Turn and face the strange changes.

Donald Trump might change his tax plan, but he won’t release his tax returns.
May 12, 2016Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Tax Evasion by any other name…

Panama Papers: Wyden wants a closer look at Nevada and Wyoming shell companies. There are over 1,000 shell companies in Nevada and 24 in Wyoming with ties to the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, and top Senate Finance Committee Democrat Ron Wyden wants the two states to tell Congress about
May 11, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Why Criticize What Trump Is Saying About His Tax Plan?

Critics are blasting Donald Trump for saying his tax plan would be open to negotiation should it ever get to Congress. There are plenty of reasons to criticize the presumptive GOP presidential candidate, but a willingness to find a middle ground on an important policy issue should not be one of them. How did stating the obvious become a political sin?
May 10, 2016Howard Gleckman
: Daily Deduction

“Reality Bites”

Sanders’s domestic policy agenda: It’s a budget buster. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders would raise taxes by $15 trillion across all income groups, yet his proposed benefits would, according to new Urban Institute analysis, more than offset them for 95 percent of households. But the
May 10, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Sanders’s Domestic Program Would Help Most Households, But Add More Than $18 Trillion to the Debt

Sanders’s Domestic Program Would Help Most Households, But Add More Than $18 Trillion to the Debt. Most American families would receive new government benefits that would exceed their higher taxes under the domestic policy agenda of Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. But even though
May 9, 2016Howard Gleckman
: Daily Deduction

The Art of the Deals

Everything is negotiable? So says presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump of his tax plan. He told ABC News’ “This Week” that the top income tax rate would be higher than the 25 percent he’s proposed. “On my plan [the top rates are] going down. But by the time it's negotiated, they'll go
May 9, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: Research report

An Analysis of Senator Bernie Sanders's Tax and Transfer Proposals

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders proposes significant tax increases that would raise $15.3 trillion over the next decade. All income groups would pay more tax, but most would come from high-income households, particularly those with very high incomes. Sanders would also implement new
May 9, 2016Gordon B. MerminLeonard E. BurmanFrank Sammartino
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Why One Hedge Fund Manager Really May Be Leaving New Jersey

The New York Post recently reported that hedge fund manager David Tepper is going to “ destroy New Jersey ” by moving to Florida. He will do this, the Post reported, by taking his income from high-tax New Jersey to no-income tax Florida. A New Jersey legislative analyst testified that Tepper,
May 6, 2016Norton Francis
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

A Case of Love, Death, Estates, and Taxes

I was 12 when I first heard “Little Red Corvette,” a profoundly racy song by the late musician Prince. I didn’t really understand the lyrics but remember shouting, “I love this song!” Even though English was their second language, my parents caught its meaning and were not fans. I just rolled my eyes, thinking “What’s wrong with a car?”
May 4, 2016Renu Zaretsky
Business Taxes: Symposium

How Foreign Tax Changes Affect U. S. Businesses and the Prospects for Tax Reform

The Inaugural Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Donald C. Lubick Symposium Changes in the taxation of business income by our major trading partners are creating shock...
May 3, 2016
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Finding A Politician Who Would Pay For What She Promises

The folks over at the Committee for A Responsible Federal Budget have added up the cost of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s policy platform and how she’d finance it. And, lo and behold, it looks like she’d actually pay for nearly all she wants to do. In contemporary American politics, this is nothing short of amazing.
May 3, 2016Howard Gleckman
: Daily Deduction

An Exit Tax, a Stalemate, and Expansions

Another exit tax proposal hits the Hill. With the support of 50 fellow House Democrats, Texan Lloyd Doggett introduced a bill last week to slow inversions by taxing either the deferred foreign income of a US company’s foreign subsidiary or the appreciation in value of the subsidiary, whichever is
May 2, 2016Renu Zaretsky
: Daily Deduction

Setting Priorities, Curbing the IRS, Sizing Up Change

How can we make economic opportunity a top priority in the federal budget? TPC’s Gene Steuerle, in a new policy brief and research report , has some ideas. “Putting opportunity at the forefront of programs throughout the budget could significantly improve equality in earnings, wealth, and human and
April 29, 2016Renu Zaretsky