The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the “tax gap” —between what taxpayers owe the federal government and what they pay on time. It’s particularly timely given the IRS’ depleted enforcement division and the challenges that the 2017 tax law poses for compliance. With some members of both parties...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
As Mother’s Day Approaches, a Proposal to Help Millions of Mothers and Their Children
May 7, 2019
The approach of Mother’s Day is a good time to remember that legislation from Senators Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden, which another 42 senators support, would help 23 million mothers and 49 million children by expanding the Earned...
Regulating the “Wild West” of Tax Return Preparation
April 26, 2019
Taxpayers’ widespread confusion and frustration this past filing season, the first under the 2017 tax law, highlights the important role of tax preparation professionals in helping millions file their returns. Some tax preparers (e.g., certified public accountants) have...
Tax Day 2019 Charts: Working Families Should Be Priority of Restructured 2017 Tax Law
April 12, 2019
As people rush to file their income tax returns by Tax Day (April 15), a few reminders: First, as the Brookings Institution’s Vanessa Williamson explained: “Residents of the United States are unusually likely [compared to other countries] to see chipping in their share as a civic duty, a...
House GOP Tax Fix for Restaurant, Retail Owners Leaves Out Millions of Their Workers
December 6, 2018
The House Republican tax package making “technical corrections” to the 2017 tax law repeats one of the law’s fundamental flaws: cutting...
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...
