The House Republican tax package making “technical corrections” to the 2017 tax law repeats one of the law’s fundamental flaws: cutting...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
House Republican “2.0” Tax Plan Favors Wealthiest, Makes Fiscal Problems Worse
September 6, 2018
Update, September 14: we’ve updated this post to incorporate new Tax Policy Center data on the plan’s cost estimate and its impact on different income groups.
The House is expected to vote this month on its “2.0” tax plan, which would double down on the...
House GOP Shouldn’t Again Shortchange Working Families With “2.0” Tax Plan’s Child Credit
September 6, 2018
If, as expected, House Republicans vote later this month on their “2.0” tax-cut plan despite its severe flaws, they should fix the glaring shortcomings in its Child Tax Credit (CTC) provision. But there has been no indication that House GOP leaders intend to do so.
Nor would improving the CTC provision do enough to address the overall plan’s flaws. As explained...
CBO Forecast of Weak Revenues Under Trump Policies Shows Impact of 2017 Tax Law
May 24, 2018
The new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of President Trump’s 2019 budget shows how seriously his tax policies — particularly the 2017 tax law, which will cost $1.9 trillion over the next decade (and even more if policymakers make any of its temporary tax cuts permanent) — are eroding the nation’s revenue base.
CBO estimates...
Real Estate Tax Breaks, Low-Income Rent Hikes Reflect Skewed Priorities
May 7, 2018
The President’s plan to raise rents on low-income working families, the elderly, and people with disabilities who receive rental assistance is particularly striking when contrasted with the real estate industry’s large tax benefits from the 2017 tax law. Commercial real...
Pass-Throughs and Corporations Had No Parity to Maintain
May 1, 2018
Among the 2017 tax law’s most flawed parts is a large tax break for certain “pass-through” income — which the owners of businesses such as partnerships, S corporations, and sole proprietorships report on their individual tax returns rather than pay the corporate tax. Its proponents misguidedly argued that it was needed to maintain “parity” (i.e., a level playing field) between these businesses...
JCT Highlights Pass-Through Deduction’s Tilt Toward the Top
April 24, 2018
Some 61 percent of the benefit from the 2017 tax law’s 20 percent deduction for pass-through income will flow to the top 1 percent of households in 2024, compared to just 4 percent for the bottom two-thirds, we estimate based on new and earlier estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). (See chart.)...
Trump Administration’s Tax Enforcement Funding Mechanism Deserves Support
April 23, 2018
When Congress considers the IRS’s 2019 funding level in the coming weeks, it should embrace President Trump’s proposal to add funding for enforcing tax laws that doesn’t count against the 2011 Budget Control Act’s (BCA) annual cap on overall funding for non-defense appropriations. That approach to IRS enforcement funding has a long bipartisan history and is especially timely now, given the IRS...
As Tax Day Approaches, These Charts Show Why the New Tax Law Is Fundamentally Flawed
April 10, 2018
With Americans focusing on taxes as the April 17 deadline approaches, these charts show why the tax law enacted in December needs wholesale restructuring: it will increase inequality, reduce revenues at a time when the nation needs to increase them, and invite rampant tax avoidance. As our...
IRS Must Now Be a Top Funding Priority
February 16, 2018
Now that President Trump and congressional leaders have raised annual spending caps for defense and non-defense discretionary programs for 2018 and 2019, policymakers should make additional Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding a top priority. The recent tax bill poses a once-in-a-generation, multi-dimensional challenge for the IRS, and the President and Congress must give the IRS the funds...
