Tax Policy Center

John Koskinen

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Kautter Is The Wrong Choice As Acting IRS Commissioner

President Trump has named Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter as acting commissioner of the IRS. He’d serve in both posts until a...
October 26, 2017Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The 2016 Tax Vox Lump of Coal Award for the Year's Worst Tax Ideas

Donald Trump is not only President-elect, but he is also the hands-down winner of Tax Vox’s Lump of Coal Award for the worst tax policy...
December 20, 2016Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

Being IRS Commissioner Shouldn't Be Mission Impossible

The 2016 Republican Party platform demands that Congress impeach and convict Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen. His “high crimes and misdemeanors” primarily consist...
August 1, 2016Leonard E. Burman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Should The IRS Become a Consumer Agency Instead of a Tax Cop?

In her latest report to Congress , IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson made the provocative suggestion that her agency completely rethink its mission: “It should transform itself as a tax agency from one that is designed around nabbing the small percentage of the population that actively evades tax to
July 16, 2015Howard Gleckman
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

The Scary New World of Tax Fraud

Back in the day—say 2011--tax fraud was pretty straightforward. Taxpayers deliberately understated income or overstated deductions to cheat the system for their own benefit. Not anymore. Now, a growing share of such fraud is about crooks using the identities of innocent taxpayers to steal money. If
May 14, 2015Howard Gleckman
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

On Some States of Business Taxation and a US Carbon Tax Swap

In Nevada, the GOP governor ’ s $1 billion business tax hike wins support. The state senate passed Governor Brian Sandoval’s plan to shift the state’s flat $200 business license fee to a version of a gross receipts tax. According to the measure, which would raise nearly $1 billion over 2 years, the
April 23, 2015Renu Zaretsky
: TaxVox

Happy Tax Day! Who Will Pay?

No Virginia. The One Percent don’t dodge federal taxes . In 2013, they paid 35.7 percent of their income in federal taxes. Low-income households don’t dodge, either. While many paid no income tax, nearly all paid payroll tax. You can start your Tax Day exploring these and other common myths as TPC’
April 15, 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
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

What Will Happen To Voluntary Tax Compliance If a Budget-constrained IRS Is Not Fixed?

Is the IRS such a mess that the nation’s system of voluntary tax compliance is at risk? Will frustrated taxpayers rebel because they can’t get help with a revenue code they can’t understand? Will aggressive taxpayers who recognize that audit rates have plummeted to the lowest levels in years
April 9, 2015Howard Gleckman