Return-Free Filing: A Better Fit for a Better Tax Code
Return-free filing could reduce compliance costs for many taxpayers, but would only be as good as the system it is administrating.
4 min readReturn-free filing could reduce compliance costs for many taxpayers, but would only be as good as the system it is administrating.
4 min readLouisiana legislators passed a tax reform plan that has received overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, but voters will get the ultimate say on whether that plan succeeds. In light of this, it may be valuable to walk through what is included in these reforms and what effect the changes will have on taxpayers.
5 min readThe good news is that lawmakers avoided raising taxes to cover the cost of the new spending and instead used some reasonable fees and asset sales. The bad news is that half of the offsets come from unused, debt-financed COVID-19 relief funds and the economic return on many of these investments is questionable.
7 min readReducing the tax gap is, on the margin, a good way to raise revenue, but is not without costs. Policymakers should consider compliance costs for law-abiding taxpayers as well as administrative costs for the IRS when evaluating measures to reduce the tax gap.
33 min readNew Treasury Department data released on the advance Child Tax Credit payments shows the distribution by state, including how much, on average, households in each state received. The expansion will only be in effect for the 2021 tax year—if policymakers wish to continue providing the increased benefits, they must address the administrative and revenue costs of the policy.
4 min readIn 2020 and 2021, Congress enacted three rounds of economic impact payments (EIPs) for direct relief to households amidst the pandemic-induced downturn. Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that households increasingly saved their EIPs or used them to pay down debt rather than spend them.
5 min readAmidst the outstanding questions, potential confusion over how advanced child tax credit payments will affect tax refunds, and an incomplete portal to update taxpayer information, the IRS will begin sending payments to millions of households this month.
4 min readA question for policymakers to consider is how this new era of worker mobility will impact the fiscal landscape, and what changes must be made to address resulting revenue and compliance concerns.
6 min readThe redistribution of income from the Biden administration’s tax proposals would involve many winners and losers, not only across different types of taxpayers but also geographically across the country. Launch our new interactive map to see average tax changes by state and congressional district over the budget window from 2022 to 2031.
8 min readExplore President Biden budget proposals, including tax and spending in American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. See Biden tax and spending proposals.
12 min readTaxes are once again at the forefront of the public policy debate as legislators grapple with how to fund new infrastructure spending, among other priorities. Our tax tracker helps you stay up-to-date as new tax plans emerge from the Biden administration and Congress.
1 min readIt took until the last day of the session, but Louisiana lawmakers succeeded in passing a tax reform package Thursday that would simplify a complicated tax code and make the state more economically competitive.
4 min readIn his first 100 days as president, Joe Biden has proposed more than a dozen significant changes to the U.S. tax code that would raise upwards of $3 trillion in revenue and reduce incentives to invest, save, and work in the United States.
4 min readWe ought to be worried about the impact of corporate taxes on women, low-skilled workers, and younger workers, since they are the very workers who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Raising the corporate tax rate would simply hurt them even more.
22 min readAs Congress works to provide another round of emergency economic relief, it is a good time to step back and consider how tax policy affects entrepreneurs and small businesses.
3 min readPolicymakers should consider finding ways to simplify the administration of relief during future crises. This will help ensure the relief is timely and targeted, key components of any successful relief package for this crisis or crises in the future.
3 min readThe size and scope of the tax changes within the CARES Act created significant administrative challenges for the IRS. Lawmakers should prioritize simplicity in the next round of relief.
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