EITC | Tax Policy Center

Combined Tax Rates and Creating a 21st Century Social Welfare Budget

In testimony yesterday before a joint hearing of two House subcommittees, I urged Congress to modernize the nation’s social welfare programs to focus on early childhood, quality teachers, more effective work subsidies, and improved neighborhoods. One way lawmakers can shift their gaze is by

June 26, 2015C. Eugene Steuerle

Does Saying “No Chance” Increase the Chances of Reform?

The House votes to ban taxes on Internet access. Again. But senators still want to link the prohibition to a separate measure that would clarify the ability of states to require online sellers to collect sales taxes. Like that little icon you get when your computer is stuck: The two issues just

June 10, 2015Renu Zaretsky

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

How Many Americans Get Government Assistance? All of Us

The other day, the Census Bureau put out a new report that concluded about one-in-five Americans received government benefits in 2012. But the study, called Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Participation in Government Programs, 2009–2012: Who Gets Assistance, takes a far too narrow view about who

June 4, 2015Howard Gleckman

: TaxVox

Rewarding Work, Paying by the Mile, a Windfall, and… Tax Magic  

Redesign the EITC to help more low-income workers. TPC’s Elaine Maag thinks that’s the way to go. She explains in her new paper : “A worker credit based on individual earnings, and not contingent on having children at home, could provide substantial benefits to all low-income workers, ease

May 21, 2015Renu Zaretsky

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

A Redesigned Earned Income Tax Credit Could Encourage Work by Childless Adults

The earned income tax credit (EITC) lifts millions of working families out of poverty, but provides little support to workers without children and some low-wage workers married to other low-wage workers. Congress could fix this flaw by scaling back the EITC and creating a new worker credit that is

May 20, 2015Elaine Maag

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Why Do Taxpayers Leave Money on the Table?

My dad taught a teenage me an important lesson when he helped me file my first federal income tax return. I earned the minimum wage at a part-time job, and didn’t have to file. But he explained that I should file, knowing my effort would be rewarded. “You don’t earn enough to owe income taxes,” he

May 6, 2015Renu Zaretsky

: TaxVox

Tax Season: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

The IRS and the ACA: Working hard and working well. The IRS, thanks to years of preparation since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, has managed the current tax filing season smoothly, according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen , even with new ACA burdens and IRS budget cutbacks . “It's

April 13, 2015Renu Zaretsky

: TaxVox

Can Expectations Be Too Low?

Pot tax refunds for all in Colorado? Colorado’s controversial Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) says that the state cannot keep more tax revenue than it expected to collect in the year it levies a new tax. Colorado is on track to collect an extra $219 million in revenue in the current fiscal year and

March 3, 2015Renu Zaretsky

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

How Obama’s Tax Plan Will Redistribute Income from the Very Rich To The Poor

President Obama’s latest tax package, which he’ll unveil in detail next week along with his new budget, would lower taxes for low-income households and significantly raise taxes for the highest income 1 percent—those making $663,000 or more, according to new Tax Policy Center estimates . Middle-

January 28, 2015Howard Gleckman

: TaxVox

“They Said That They Would Do It and Indeed They Did.”  

“ Oh, what a night …” but no shut down. Ted Cruz and a handful of allies succeeded in delaying the Senate vote on the 2015 budget, but they couldn’t stop it. The $1.1 trillion spending bill was approved late Saturday night by a vote of 56-40 . And three months into the fiscal year, most of the

December 15, 2014Renu Zaretsky