TaxVox

The voices of Tax Policy Center's researchers and staff

Tax Season: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

April 13, 2015 –
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...
Individual Taxes

How much does the tax code reduce inequality?

April 10, 2015 –
This post originally appeared on Up Front , the Brookings Institution's blog. There is, for good reason, a lot of focus these days on the widening...
Individual Taxes

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

April 9, 2015 –
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...
Individual Taxes

Ferguson City Finances: Not the New Normal

April 8, 2015 –
The recently completed US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Ferguson’s police department highlighted “the City’s focus on revenue rather...
Individual Taxes

One Avenue to Bipartisan Tax Reform: Simplification and Improved Tax Administration

April 8, 2015 –
There are many ways to restructure the tax code. Elected officials often fail to detect opportunity when they adhere in a path-dependent way to one...
Individual Taxes

One Solution to California’s Drought: Tax Water

April 7, 2015 –
The idea is straight out of Economics 101: If you want people to do less of something, raise the price. And California desperately needs its...

It’s Spring Break, and “Everything’s Coming Up Taxes…” (No Daffodils)

April 6, 2015 –
Congress is in recess and the Daily Deduction will post Mondays until it reconvenes. We’ll be back to our regular schedule on April 13. Taxpayers:...
Individual Taxes

For Most Households, It’s About the Payroll Tax, Not the Income Tax

April 2, 2015 –
While policymakers obsess about the income tax, they often lose sight of an important detail: For two-thirds of households, the levy that matters...
Individual Taxes

A Penny for Your Sugar: Setting a Price on Sin

April 1, 2015 –
What do you have to drink in your refrigerator? I’ve got kids in grade school, and our fridge always holds their favorite: Juice boxes filled with...
Federal Budget and Economy

Is a Consumption Tax Talk Making a Comeback?

March 31, 2015 –
Maybe it’s just because Congress is on spring break and tax wonks don’t have much to talk about, but suddenly the idea of a consumption tax is...