Tax Expenditures for Asset-Building: Costly, Regressive, and Ineffective
Most federal subsidies aimed at helping households accumulate financial and tangible assets are delivered through tax expenditures—spending through the tax code. In 2013, these deductions, deferrals,...
View ArticleStudent Loans Rising
The share of households with student loans rose from 9 percent in 1989 to 19 percent by 2010, while inflation-adjusted median student debt rose by more than 50 percent. Rising debt burdens can affect...
View ArticleFlattening Tax Incentives for Retirement Saving
Under current law, a large share of tax benefits for retirement saving accrues to high-income employees. We simulate the short- and long-term effect of three policy options for flattening tax...
View ArticleMaking Saving Incentives More Equitable
Tax expenditures for retirement saving top $100 billion annually—from 401(k)-type plans ($61.4 billion) to IRAs ($17.6 billion) to tax preferences for pensions ($35.1 billion)—but these subsidies...
View ArticleEITC Claiming Across Zip Codes
This brief provides a fresh look at the role of the EITC by utilizing zip-code level data on taxes and demographics. In the following sections, we focus on the relationship between EITC claiming rates...
View ArticleThe Mortgage Interest Deduction Across Zip Codes
This brief examines characteristics of the mortgage interest deduction by utilizing zip-code level data on taxes and demographics. In the following sections, we focus on the relationship between the...
View ArticleFactsheet: Beneficiaries of Tax Expenditures Across Zip Codes
This fact sheet summarizes the key conclusions from a series of briefs aimed at contributing to the knowledge of select tax expenditures—the EITC, MID, and preferential rates on capital gains—by...
View ArticleNet Capital Gains Across Zip Codes
This brief examines net capital gains realizations by utilizing zip-code level data on taxes and demographics. This data can help shed light on direct beneficiaries of preferential capital gains tax...
View ArticleThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Missed Opportunity to Establish a Sustainable...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 leaves many promises of tax reform unfulfilled. In this paper, we examine the plan’s prospects to boost future growth, and discuss fundamental reforms that would boost...
View ArticleEvaluating Tax Expenditures
Increased demand for better use of evidence in policymaking has sparked bipartisan support for better evaluation of federal spending programs. Tax expenditures, spending-like subsidies embedded in the...
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