TaxVox

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The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Individual Taxes

The Profound Philosophical Disagreement Over The Refundable Child Tax Credit

January 28, 2022 –
Often, tax policy debates can be settled by splitting the difference. You like a tax rate of 28 percent. I prefer 20 percent. Let’s settle...
Individual Taxes

The IRS Made Me File A Paper Return. Then Lost It

January 26, 2022 –
The IRS lost my 2020 tax return. Well, according to the notice I got yesterday, the IRS says it “never received” the return. But I’m...
Business Taxes

Fix the Existing Corporate Tax Before Forging a New One

January 25, 2022 –
The Build Back Better (BBB) bill’s winter holiday gives Congress more time to evaluate the plan’s components, including a 15 percent minimum tax on the...
State and Local Issues

Only in Florida: DeSantis’s Proposal to Suspend the Gas Tax with ARP Dollars is Doubly Wrong

January 14, 2022 –
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to use $1 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to suspend Florida’s gas tax for five months. Suspending the...
State and Local Issues

Public Safety or Speed Traps? The Conflicts of Interest Behind Fines and Fees

January 13, 2022 –
If you have ever been issued a speeding ticket, you probably grumbled about the government using you as a piggy bank. In our new research...
Individual Taxes

What If Congress Made The Child Tax Credit Taxable?

January 12, 2022 –
As my colleague Elaine Maag noted the other day , Democrats are squabbling again (or is it still) over how to structure the Child Tax...
Business Taxes

A New Analysis Shows How Much Business Income Goes Untaxed

January 11, 2022 –
In a new paper , we show that more than half of the income generated by closely held businesses (that is, firms other than corporations)...
Business Taxes

Understanding How the United States Fails to Tax So Much Business Income

January 11, 2022 –
Over the past three decades, the United States has gone from taxing roughly half of closely held business (that is, firms other than corporations) and...
Individual Taxes

Excise Taxes on Guns and Ammo: Sin Taxes That Don’t Prevent the Sin

January 5, 2022 –
Some state and federal level lawmakers are considering new taxes on guns and ammunition. After all, if you want less of something—like the guns used to commit violence in schools—tax them, right?
Individual Taxes

Should the Child Tax Credit Be Limited to Those with Lower Incomes, As Manchin Prefers?

January 4, 2022 –
In 2021, the Child Tax Credit (CTC), helped nearly all families with children . But this year, because American Rescue Plan (ARP) expansions have lapsed,...