The Joint Committee on Taxation today released Overview of the Federal Tax System as in Effect for 2013 (JCX-2-13): This document … provides a summary of the present-law Federal tax system as in effect for 2013. The current Federal tax system has four main elements: (1) an income tax on individuals and corporations (which consists

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The House last night approved H.R. 8 by a vote of 257-167 to avert the fiscal cliff.  The bill now goes to the White House for President Obama's signature.  Highlights of the bill include: Raise the marginal tax rate to 39.6% on income over $450,000 (joint) and $400,000 (single). Raise the tax rate on dividends

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The Congressional Research Service has reissued a report on tax rates and the economic growth after it was pulled in response to Republican criticism:  Taxes and the Economy: An Economic Analysis of the Top Tax Rates Since 1945 (Updated) (R42729) (Sept. 14, 2012). Huffington Post, High-End Tax Hikes Would Have ‘Negligible’ Impact On Growth, Revised CRS

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Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has released Ten Tax Expenditure Reforms & Eliminations: $315 Billion Over Ten Years: The tax code is long overdue for comprehensive restructuring. Yet, instead of considering broad reform to simplify the code and lower rates, Washington continues to exacerbate the problem—doling out tax breaks and subsidies in the form of tax

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The Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure of the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Tax Reform and Federal Energy Policy: Incentives to Promote Energy Efficiency: Dan Arvizu (Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO) Steve Nadel (Executive Director, American Council for an Energy- Efficient Economy, Washington, D.C.) Mark F. Wagner (Vice

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Joint Economic Committee Republican Staff Analysis,  Historical Tax Rates: Rhetoric vs. Reality (Nov. 14, 2012): A recent report by the Congressional Research Service claims that changing the top statutory individual income tax rate has little or no effect on economic growth. To support this claim, the CRS report compares the top rates from 1945 through

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Constitutionality of Retroactive Tax Legislation (R42791) (Oct. 25, 2012) The Impact of the Federal Estate Tax on State Estate Taxes (R42788) (Oct. 24, 2012) Carbon Tax: Deficit Reduction and Other Considerations (R42731) (Sept. 17, 2012) Taxes and the Economy: An Economic Analysis of the Top Tax Rates Since 1945 (R42729) (Sept. 14, 2012) Tax Rates

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The Congressional Budget Office today released Taxation of Owner-Occupied and Rental Housing: This paper illustrates how the different tax treatments of owner-occupied and rented houses affect the relative costs of owning and renting. In the examples, a representative landlord computes the rental rate (the ratio of the rent to the value of the house) required to

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The Joint Committee on Taxation yesterday released a report throwing water on the possibility of reducing tax rates by eliminating tax expenditures. The report assumes that Congress allows today's reduced rates to rise in January and concludes that the elimination of certain provisions (the AMT; limitations on itemized deductions and personal exemptions for certain taxpayers;

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The Congressional Budget Office yesterday released The Taxation of Capital and Labor Through the Self-Employment Tax: The Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax is paid mainly by certain small business owners. That tax on sole proprietors and owners of partnerships is often characterized as one that parallels the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax that employers and

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Following up on last week's post, Camp, Hatch Call on NY AG to Back Off Investigation Into 501(c)(4) Groups: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent this letter to the top Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee informing him that he will not back down in his investigation of

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The House Ways & Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee hold a rare Joint Hearing today on Tax Reform and the Tax Treatment of Capital Gains: The hearing will focus on the taxation of capital gains in the context of comprehensive tax reform. It will explore several tax reform policy issues relating to the treatment

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The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs holds a hearing today on Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code: The Subcommittee will examine the shifting of profits offshore by U.S. multinational corporations and how such activities are affected by the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations.

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Press Release The Hill, Tax Writers Fire Off Warning to NY AG New York Times, Congressional Republicans Raise Questions About New York Investigations Politico, Dave Camp, Orrin Hatch Tell New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to Back Off  Wall Street Journal, GOP Lawmakers Push Back on Tax Probes

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Congressional Research Service, The Corporate Income Tax System: Overview and Options for Reform (R42726) (Sept. 13, 2012): Many economists and policymakers believe that the U.S. corporate tax system is in need of reform. There is, however, disagreement over why the corporate tax system needs to be reformed, and what specific policy measures should be included

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Congressional Research Service, Taxes and the Economy: An Economic Analysis of the Top Tax Rates Since 1945 (R42729) (Sept. 14, 2012): Income tax rates have been at the center of recent policy debates over taxes. Some policymakers have argued that raising tax rates, especially on higher income taxpayers, to increase tax revenues is part of

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The Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access of the House Small Business Committee holds a hearing today on Adding to Uncertainty: Small Businesses’ Perspectives on the Tax Cliff: As many small businesses are organized as “pass-through” entities, where business owners pay their taxes at individual rates, the hearing will examine how the potential

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The House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing this morning on The IRS's Implementation and Administration of Democrats' Health Care Law: [T]he Democrats’ health care law contains 47 tax or tax-related provisions, some of which are already in effect and others that will become effective over the next 18 months.  These provisions include, the

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Following up on Friday's post, CRS: Political Ads and the Tax Code:  Huffington Post:  Karl Rove's Donor Plan Could Run Afoul of IRS, Congressional Report Suggests, by Dan Froomkin: A new report from Congress' nonpartisan research arm suggests that the IRS won't have much patience with the argument from groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS

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Congressional Research Service, 501(c)(4)s and the Gift Tax: Legal Analysis (R42655) (Aug. 10, 2012) Recent media reports of donors contributing substantial amounts to tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations have led some to ask whether these donations are subject to the federal gift tax. The short answer is that the gift tax statutes do not contain an exemption

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The Congressional Budget Office today released Trends in The Distribution of Household Income, 1979–2009: Households in the top 1% experienced very rapid growth in after-tax income over the 1979–2009 period Peak to peak (1979-2007), their after-tax income grew by over 300% Recent recession disproportionately affected highest income households in 2008 and 2009, causing their income

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