Kim Rueben, Sol Price Fellow at the Urban Institute, and Richard Auxier, Senior Policy Associate at the Urban Institute, testified before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Business and Economic Development on March 14, 2022. The hearing included a discussion on the “Pension...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) dramatically changed tax law, including how taxpayers deduct the interest on their home mortgages. It narrowed the deduction in several ways, so we would expect new mortgages to be smaller than old ones. But it also raised most taxpayers’ after-tax...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) dramatically changed tax law. It narrowed the subsidy on mortgage interest in several ways, which should lower mortgages and home prices; it also increased most taxpayers’ after-tax incomes, which should have the opposite effect. Thus, the TCJA’s overall...
Institute Fellow C. Eugene Steuerle testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on options for improving the lives of charitable beneficiaries through reform of the charitable deduction. The testimony outlines ways to create a more effective charitable incentive and makes...
Direct income supports (such as cash transfers) can stabilize households during crises and recoveries. They show special promise as an equitable means of assisting families of color with low incomes, who because of structural racism are disproportionately affected...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
Public benefit programs have the potential to help stabilize families when their income drops and can provide support as parents enter or reenter the workforce. As a family’s earnings rise, though, those earnings increases are often offset by declines in public...
State tax revenues saw large swings since the onset of the pandemic, in part because of government actions and behavioral responses to mitigate virus exposure.
States reported strong revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021, but that is largely because of the lower base in 2020. Still...
The child tax credit (CTC) has grown to become a core component of American family tax and welfare policy. Temporary expansions made the credit fully refundable in 2021 – even very low-income families could receive the maximum benefit. On a conceptual level, full...
Understanding The 2014 DC Tax Revision Commission’s Recommendation to Eliminate Certain Individual Income Tax Expenditures
Kim Rueben, Sol Price Fellow at the Urban Institute, and Richard Auxier, Senior Policy Associate at the Urban Institute, testified before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Business and Economic Development on March 14, 2022. The hearing included a discussion on the “Pension...
How Did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Of 2017 Affect the Housing Market?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) dramatically changed tax law, including how taxpayers deduct the interest on their home mortgages. It narrowed the deduction in several ways, so we would expect new mortgages to be smaller than old ones. But it also raised most taxpayers’ after-tax...
New Evidence on The Effect of The TCJA On the Housing Market
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) dramatically changed tax law. It narrowed the subsidy on mortgage interest in several ways, which should lower mortgages and home prices; it also increased most taxpayers’ after-tax incomes, which should have the opposite effect. Thus, the TCJA’s overall...
Options for Improving the Lives of Charitable Beneficiaries Through Reform of The Charitable Deduction
Institute Fellow C. Eugene Steuerle testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on options for improving the lives of charitable beneficiaries through reform of the charitable deduction. The testimony outlines ways to create a more effective charitable incentive and makes...
An Evaluation of THRIVE East of the River
Direct income supports (such as cash transfers) can stabilize households during crises and recoveries. They show special promise as an equitable means of assisting families of color with low incomes, who because of structural racism are disproportionately affected...
The Tax Gap’s Many Shades of Gray (Brief)
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
The Tax Gap’s Many Shades of Gray (Report)
The “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of tax actually paid—includes substantial gray areas where the law is ambiguous and the IRS’s determination of taxes owed is debatable. Understanding the tax gap’s shades of gray can inform discussions of tax law and...
Balancing at the Edge of the Cliff
Public benefit programs have the potential to help stabilize families when their income drops and can provide support as parents enter or reenter the workforce. As a family’s earnings rise, though, those earnings increases are often offset by declines in public...
State Tax and Economic Review, 2021 Quarter 2
State tax revenues saw large swings since the onset of the pandemic, in part because of government actions and behavioral responses to mitigate virus exposure.
States reported strong revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021, but that is largely because of the lower base in 2020. Still...
Issues in Child Benefit Administration in the United States
The child tax credit (CTC) has grown to become a core component of American family tax and welfare policy. Temporary expansions made the credit fully refundable in 2021 – even very low-income families could receive the maximum benefit. On a conceptual level, full...