Tax News
February 17th
IR-2012-25, Feb. 17, 2012 — The Internal Revenue Service has awarded over $9 million in matching grants to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics for the 2012 grant cycle.
February 16th
IR-2012-23, Feb. 16, 2012 –– The Internal Revenue Service today issued its annual “Dirty Dozen” ranking of tax scams, reminding taxpayers to use caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to…
February 15th
IR-2012-22, Feb. 15, 2012 — The Internal Revenue Service updated rules on permissible communications between the Office of Appeals and other parts of the IRS.
February 13th
IR-2012-20, Feb. 13, 2012 — Town hall and consultation listening meetings will be held across the country to discuss proposed guidance on possible standards for determining if a retirement plan is a governmental plan under section 414(d) of the Internal…
February 13th
IR-2012-21, Feb. 13, 2012 — Partnerships may now provide K-1s to partners electronically.
February 13th
IR-2012-19, Feb. 13, 2012 — Commenters now have until March 14 to submit to the IRS their written comments regarding the application of the general welfare exclusion to Indian tribal government programs.
General Tax Policy
February 14th
In a contribution to the International Economy magazine, Donald Marron offers his perspective on tax reform.
February 13th
A value added tax (VAT) with a broad base and a VAT that excludes food, housing, and medical care would both impose larger burdens as a share of income on low-income than on high-income taxpayers. A rebate aimed at low-income taxpayers would reduce their…
February 7th
Effective tax rates (ETRs) measure how much people pay in taxes as a percentage of their pretax incomes. That seems simple, but theres an important complication: there are different ways to measure how much someone pays in taxes and how much he collects i…
February 2nd
Tax expenditures on average raise after-tax incomes more for upper-income than for lower-income taxpayers. As a share of income, special rates for capital gains and dividends and itemized deductions provide the largest benefits for taxpayers in the top 1 …
January 30th
This paper takes a broad look at tax expenditures in the context of revenue raising tax reform. It first reviews how tax expenditures have changed over the past 25 years and provides estimates of the distribution of tax savings resulting from tax expendit…
January 30th
To help pay for expanded health insurance coverage, the health reform legislation enacted in 2010 included a new 3.8 percent tax on the net investment income of high-income taxpayers. When it goes into effect in 2013, it will increase the top tax rate on …