Tax Policy Center

tax administration

Individual Taxes: TaxVox

It’s About Your Total Tax Liability, Not Your Refund

People, if you want to know whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was good for you or not, stop obsessing about the size...
February 12, 2019Howard Gleckman
Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms: TaxVox

How Will Treasury Fill In the Blanks Of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?

When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) last December, it may have seemed like the end of a major policy initiative. But,...
April 17, 2018Howard Gleckman
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

Asking the IRS To Do More With Less, Again

President Trump wants the IRS to “combat identity theft, prevent fraud, and reduce the deficit through the effective enforcement and administration of tax laws,” according...
March 16, 2017Howard Gleckman
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

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
Federal Budget and Economy: TaxVox

The War on the IRS

The massive 2015 spending bill that President Obama is likely to sign this week continues an ongoing effort to trash the Internal Revenue Service. It is a cynical recipe for a self-fulfilling disaster: Give the agency more and more work. Cut its budget. Blame it for failing to do its job. Repeat.
December 16, 2014Howard Gleckman
: TaxVox

Reporting, Responding, and Partnerships

Congress is in recess through the mid-term elections. The Daily Deduction will post each Monday until then. Stranger than fiction: The IRS, “structuring,” and asset seizures. A business’ cash deposits, if under $10,000, do not trigger a government reporting requirement. But that could look like “
October 27, 2014Renu Zaretsky
: TaxVox

Tax Freedom, Tax Avoidance

On the Hill, a vote on internet tax freedom. The House Judiciary Committee expects to mark up a bill to prevent states and cities from taxing internet access tomorrow. The “ Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act ” has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. State and local internet taxes have
June 17, 2014Renu Zaretsky
: TaxVox

Tax Extenders, Administration and Reform Are On Deck; State Revenues Are Up

This week: The House will vote on tax extenders. In his June policy memo to House Republicans, Majority Leader Eric Cantor notes that there will be votes on three tax extender bills this week. The bills would make permanent (1) small business expensing of up to $500,000 in qualifying equipment per
June 9, 2014Renu Zaretsky
Individual Taxes: TaxVox

Can Filing Taxes Connect Low-Income Families to Bank Services and Save the Government Money?

Is there a way for low- and moderate-income households who do not have bank accounts to receive tax refunds electronically? A new Urban Institute study...
September 6, 2012Caroline RatcliffeSigne-Mary McKernan