Economic effects of tax policy

RSS

Research report
Individual Taxes

Investor Responsiveness to Capital Gains Taxes During the Great Recession

This paper uses a large panel of transaction-level capital asset sales data to investigate whether tax responsiveness varies with economic conditions. We estimate the tax elasticity associated with a large notch in the capital gains tax schedule, when the tax treatment changes from higher,...

September 10, 2019
Timothy DowdRobert McClellandJacob A. Mortenson
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

Scaling Microsimulation Modeling in the Cloud: A Guide

This document introduces the goals of Modeling in the Cloud at the Urban Institute. It details how our cloud-based system uses continuous deployment, containers, an interface, and computing and storage components that leverage Amazon Web Services (AWS), then lists lessons learned and critical...

August 30, 2019
Jessica KellyKyle UeyamaAlyssa Harris
Research report
Individual Taxes

Shifting Child Tax Benefits in the TCJA Left Most Families About the Same

This report analyzes the main provisions of the federal income tax code that provide benefits to families with children, comparing current law with what would be happening had the TCJA not been enacted, and discusses the TCJA’s implications for families of different income levels. On net, almost...

August 16, 2019
Elaine Maag
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

A U.S. Fiscal Crisis?

Recent tax cuts and the relaxation of spending caps on much of discretionary spending have added massively to the federal debt. Neither political party is showing much interest in controlling deficits and unless there are large changes in fiscal policies we are firmly on a road to a fiscal...

October 17, 2018
Rudolph G. Penner
Journal Article
Federal Budget and Economy

The Federal Budget Outlook: We Are Not Winning

In this article, Auerbach, Gale, and Krupkin discuss the federal budget outlook, examining long-term debt and the fiscal gap using recently updated data from the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security and Medicare boards of trustees.

July 30, 2018
Alan J. AuerbachWilliam G. GaleAaron Krupkin
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Missed Opportunity to Establish a Sustainable Tax Code

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 leaves many promises of tax reform unfulfilled. In this paper, we examine the plan’s prospects to boost future growth, and discuss fundamental reforms that would boost the stock of capital and generate sustained, long-term growth. After making the case that the...

May 24, 2018
Benjamin H. HarrisAdam Looney
Testimony
Individual Taxes

Reflections on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Mark Mazur, Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, testified before the Joint Economic Committee during a hearing entitled “Unleashing America’s Economic Potential.” In his testimony, Mazur presented a review of the principles of desirable tax policy, clear and less clear findings...

April 11, 2018
Mark J. Mazur
Research report
Individual Taxes

The Tax Reform Tradeoff: Eliminating Tax Expenditures, Reducing Rates Final Report

This exercise is a structured analysis to understand the implications that repealing tax expenditures would have for the overall federal tax system. The baseline tax law for the calculations in this exercise is the law in effect before enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (essentially the Tax...

February 22, 2018
TPC Staff
Journal Article
Federal Budget and Economy

Public Ignorance or Elitist Jargon?: Reconsidering Americans’ Overestimates of Government Waste and Foreign Aid

Widespread and profound public misinformation about government presents a serious challenge for democratic accountability. This paper demonstrates that two of the most common examples of public misperception may be systematically overestimated; public misperceptions of government spending are in...

January 23, 2018
Vanessa Williamson
Research report
Federal Budget and Economy

Dynamic Analysis of the House GOP Tax Plan: An Update

This paper presents estimates of the macroeconomic effects, and resulting dynamic impact on revenues, of the House GOP tax plan announced in June 2016. The estimates were produced in two ways. One set of estimates uses a combination of TPC’s Keynesian model (to project short-run effects on...

June 30, 2017
Benjamin R. Page