New Studies on Transit Tax-Free Benefit Changes, Debunking the CRS’s Growth Study, and Fiscal Cliff Details

Be sure to check out some of our new research released so far this month:

• Income Tax Code No Longer Favors Parking over Transit… For Now: Employees can deduct transportation commuting expenses from their taxes, and the fiscal cliff deal restores parity between parking ($240 per month) and transit ($240 per month, up from $125 per month). However, this parity provision is temporary, and more strangely, retroactive to 2012. Review the details and learn how the retroactive portion might be implemented.
• CRS Study on Tax Rates and Growth Still Flunks the Test: A Congressional Research Service (CRS) paper purports to determine the link (or lack thereof) between changes in the top marginal tax rates on income and capital gains and the growth rate of the economy. Unfortunately, the method used to determine the relationship depends mainly on timing, looking to see if a change in the growth rate of the economy coincides with or follows soon after a rise or fall in the tax rates. The study makes no effort to determine the channels through which the tax changes ought to work to affect the economy, looks at the wrong measure of progress over the wrong time frame, and takes inadequate account of what other tax or economic events are occurring at the same time that might mask the results.
• Details of the Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal: You may not have read the 157-page tax bill passed by Congress on January 1, but we have. Learn about the bill's provisions and how tax rates will change. (Hint: not just those who make more than $400,000/year will be paying higher taxes.)
• Interactive Tax Calculator Updated with Fiscal Cliff Deal: Use our tax calculator to see how your tax bill will change.

Our blog has also been kept up to date with the latest information:

• Updated 2013 federal income tax brackets
• Our map of states with taxpayers earning over $500,000 (closest we could get to the fiscal cliff's break point of $400,000/$450,000
• Scott Hodge's thoughts on the fiscal cliff deal
• A look at how typical households might fare under the deal
• Economic effects of the deal
• From the states: Idaho considers repealing its problematic business assets tax, Kentucky's Tax Reform Commission produces a disappointing report, and Virginia debates transportation financing