TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Individual Taxes

The Real IRS Flap Is About Dark Money, Not Emails

June 24, 2014 –
Don’t get distracted by the political theater over lost IRS emails. There is little new about headline-seeking politicians berating IRS Commissioner...

Disbelief, Devolution, and Death Benefits

June 24, 2014 –
Deja vu all over again, and then some. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen , who began his tenure at IRS in December, testified last night before the...
State and Local Issues

U.S. Taxes Have Changed A Lot Since 1929

June 20, 2014 –
U.S. taxes today bear little resemblance to the taxes collected before World War II. Income and payroll taxes have replaced tariffs and excise taxes...

Revenues, ‘Rithmetic, and the Power of Magical Thinking

June 20, 2014 –
What’s a nation to do with as-yet-untaxed US multinational corporate income? The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzes what a repatriation...
Individual Taxes

The Corker-Murphy Gas Tax Hike: A Good Idea Spoiled

June 19, 2014 –
Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) deserve enormous credit for having the courage to do what few of their colleagues would: Propose...

Tax Credits Help; Tax Cuts Need to Be Paid For

June 19, 2014 –
Tax credits are making health care under the Affordable Care Act… affordable. The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that tax...
Individual Taxes

Making State and Local Taxes “Friendly” to Small Businesses

June 18, 2014 –
Small business owners are more concerned with the complexity of state and local tax laws than with the amount of tax they pay, according to a recent...
Individual Taxes

The Tax-Shopping Backstory of the Medtronic-Covidien Inversion

June 17, 2014 –
How can a company headquartered in Minneapolis merge with a competitor run out of Mansfield, Massachusetts in order to pay taxes in Ireland? It’s...

Tax Freedom, Tax Avoidance

June 17, 2014 –
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...

Fruit, Pizza, Roads, Short-term Fixes and Shifts

June 16, 2014 –
A tax break on the vine is worth none in the bush? TPC’s Howard Gleckman describes yet another stupid tax trick in his latest post. A provision for...