In 1975, the federal income tax code joined the "War on Poverty" with the enactment of the earned income tax credit (EITC). Today, tax credits form some of the largest and most effective anti-poverty programs in the US. In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated that tax credits cut poverty (under a...
This report presents three tax reforms designed to promote homeownership through a channel other than the deductibility of mortgage interest. These reforms include a first-time homebuyer tax credit, a refundable tax credit for property taxes paid, and an annual flat amount tax credit for...
This Tax Fact examines the property tax burden as a share of home value in the United States. Most counties have property tax burdens between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of home value. As a share of home values, counties in the Northeast, parts of the Midwest, and Texas tend to have higher property...
In "100 Million Unnecessary Returns," Michael Graetz, professor of law at Columbia University, proposed sweeping tax reform that would remove most current taxpayers from the income tax rolls, reform the corporate income tax, significantly reduce the top individual and corporate rates, and adopt...
Newly released W-2 data from the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division of IRS describe in detail the wages and retirement contributions of workers from 2008 through 2010. SOI economists Kevin Pierce and Jon Gober provide an overview of the data and compare them with (much less detailed) data for...
This paper applies tax incidence theory to estimate the distributional effects of the exemption from federal income tax of interest on state and local bonds and the President's proposal to limit the benefit of the exemption to the 28 percent rate. When one accounts for the effects of changes in...
Private equity has grown exponentially: it now controls and operates a large number of the companies in our economy. But private equity is just that: private. Its operations are confidential and difficult to parse. This article attempts to demystify the business of private equity. It also...
The impact of tax reform on housing prices has traditionally been studied by examining the user cost of capital the after-tax cost to the homeowner per unit of housing. This brief summarizes findings from a new discrete period approach which considers the time element of housing investment and...
The benefits of itemized deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes vary by income and demographic characteristics. The two deductions increase after-tax income most for high-income families, particularly those with children, while low-income households hardly benefit at all. On average...
The War on Poverty Moves to the Tax Code
In 1975, the federal income tax code joined the "War on Poverty" with the enactment of the earned income tax credit (EITC). Today, tax credits form some of the largest and most effective anti-poverty programs in the US. In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated that tax credits cut poverty (under a...
New Perspectives on Homeownership Tax Incentives
This report presents three tax reforms designed to promote homeownership through a channel other than the deductibility of mortgage interest. These reforms include a first-time homebuyer tax credit, a refundable tax credit for property taxes paid, and an annual flat amount tax credit for...
Property Taxes in the United States
This Tax Fact examines the property tax burden as a share of home value in the United States. Most counties have property tax burdens between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of home value. As a share of home values, counties in the Northeast, parts of the Midwest, and Texas tend to have higher property...
Updated Tables for "Using a VAT to Reform the Income Tax"
In "100 Million Unnecessary Returns," Michael Graetz, professor of law at Columbia University, proposed sweeping tax reform that would remove most current taxpayers from the income tax rolls, reform the corporate income tax, significantly reduce the top individual and corporate rates, and adopt...
SOI Releases New Data From Form W-2
Newly released W-2 data from the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division of IRS describe in detail the wages and retirement contributions of workers from 2008 through 2010. SOI economists Kevin Pierce and Jon Gober provide an overview of the data and compare them with (much less detailed) data for...
Who Pays No Income Tax? A 2013 Update
TPC estimates that 43 percent of Americans will pay no federal income tax this year, down from the peak of 50 percent in 2008 and 2009.
Who Benefits from Tax-Exempt Bonds?: An Application of the Theory of Tax Incidence
This paper applies tax incidence theory to estimate the distributional effects of the exemption from federal income tax of interest on state and local bonds and the President's proposal to limit the benefit of the exemption to the 28 percent rate. When one accounts for the effects of changes in...
Private Equity Is a Business: Sun Capital and Beyond
Private equity has grown exponentially: it now controls and operates a large number of the companies in our economy. But private equity is just that: private. Its operations are confidential and difficult to parse. This article attempts to demystify the business of private equity. It also...
New Estimates of Tax Reform's Effect on Housing Prices
The impact of tax reform on housing prices has traditionally been studied by examining the user cost of capital the after-tax cost to the homeowner per unit of housing. This brief summarizes findings from a new discrete period approach which considers the time element of housing investment and...
The Benefits of the Mortgage Interest and Property Tax Deductions
The benefits of itemized deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes vary by income and demographic characteristics. The two deductions increase after-tax income most for high-income families, particularly those with children, while low-income households hardly benefit at all. On average...