TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

TPC Builds A Moog—Or How Synthetic Data Could Transform Policy Research

July 13, 2020 –
In 1970, Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute got a Moog synthesizer —a giant, unwieldy computer that created music. The sound was weird and quite evidently electronic. My...
Federal Budget and Economy

Congress Has No Clear Roadmap For Its Next COVID-19 Response

July 8, 2020 –
When Congress returns from its summer break on July 20, its primary job (really, its only job) is to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress...
Federal Budget and Economy

Remembering Ed Kleinbard

July 2, 2020 –
The tax community this week is mourning the loss of University of Southern California law professor Edward D. Kleinbard. Ed previously served as Chief of...
State and Local Issues

COVID-19 Pandemic Could Slash 2020-21 State Revenues By $200 Billion

July 1, 2020 –
Revised forecast data from 27 states suggest tax revenues are expected to fall $34 billion short of pre-COVID-19 forecasts in fiscal year 2020.

Tax Day Is Around the Corner: Who’s (Been) Ready?

July 1, 2020 –
How have we spent our first-ever extended tax filing season? Has the July 15 deadline changed Americans’ behavior?

Will COVID-19 Cause A Decline In Property Taxes?

June 30, 2020 –
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a sharp decline in state and local income and sales tax revenues . But history suggests that one key local...
Individual Taxes

Pelosi’s Infrastructure Bill Takes The Wrong Road On Tax Subsidies

June 26, 2020 –
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rolled up many different committee bills into a single, massive 2,300-page, $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that the Democratic-controlled House likely...
Business Taxes

Should Congress Pump Money Into Businesses By Shifting The Timing Of Tax Benefits?

June 19, 2020 –
Should Congress manipulate the timing of business tax benefits to support firms in the midst of the COVID-19 economic slump? And if so, how?
Federal Budget and Economy

TPC Updates Its Online Briefing Book

June 11, 2020 –
To follow significant fiscal changes, such as those being driven by the legislative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, it helps to have a background in...
Federal Budget and Economy

If Trump Curbs New COVID-19 Aid To State and Local Governments, He Will Help Defund The Police

June 10, 2020 –
President Trump has taken a strong position against calls by some on the political left to “defund” police departments. At the same time, he continues...