Congressional Research Service Reports - 382 Matching Results

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The American Opportunity Tax Credit: Overview, Analysis, and Policy Options

Description: This report provides both an in-depth description of this tax credit and an analysis of its economic impact. This report is organized to first provide an overview of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), followed by a legislative history that highlights the evolution of education tax credits from proposals in the 1960s through the recent extension of the AOTC at the end of 2012. This report then analyzes the credit by looking at who claims the credit, the effect education tax credits have… more
Date: July 10, 2014
Creator: Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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501(c)(4)s and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws

Description: This report discusses 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, including the requirements necessary to maintain 501(c)(4) status and the requirements for annual reporting to the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Election Commission.
Date: May 17, 2013
Creator: Lunder, Erika K. & Whitaker, L. Paige
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Restrictions on Itemized Tax Deductions: Policy Options and Analysis

Description: This report analyzes various proposals to restrict itemized deductions--both across-the-board and individually tailored--using standard economic criteria of economic efficiency, distribution, simplicity, and estimated revenue effects. In particular, this report estimates each proposal's potential to contribute to revenue-neutral reductions in income tax rates and the consequences for economic behavior.
Date: March 10, 2014
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Lowry, Sean
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Distribution of the Tax Burden Across Individuals: An Overview

Description: This report discusses in the first section different philosophies about how the tax burden should be distributed, and what those philosophies imply for the shape of the tax system. In particular, it addresses the question of the justifications for a progressive tax system (one where the share of income collected as a tax rises as income rises). This section is presented for the interested reader, but is not a necessary preliminary to examining the analysis in the second section, which presents … more
Date: December 13, 2004
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Shvedov, Maxim
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Business Investment and Employment Tax Incentives to Stimulate the Economy

Description: This report discusses the merit of various business tax incentives and their effectiveness in providing fiscal stimulus during the recession. The two most common measures to provide business tax incentives for new investment are investment tax credits and accelerated deductions for depreciation.
Date: September 16, 2010
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L. & Gravelle, Jane G.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Amazon Laws" and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis

Description: As more purchases are made over the Internet, states are looking for new ways to collect taxes on online sales. There is a common misperception that the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from taxing Internet sales. This report discusses "Amazon laws", which try to capture uncollected taxes on Internet sales and yet still comply with the Constitution's requirements.
Date: November 28, 2014
Creator: Lunder, Erika K. & Pettit, Carol A.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Economic Effects of Capital Gains Taxation

Description: One provision of the 1913 individual income tax that generated a great deal of confusion was the taxation of income from the sale of property (i.e., capital gains income). This initial confusion has led to almost 100 years of legislative debates over capital gains. Beginning in 1922 capital gains were first subject to lower tax rates than ordinary income. This preferential treatment has continued throughout most of the history of the income tax. Proposals dealing with the taxation of capital ga… more
Date: June 18, 2010
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Medical Device Excise Tax: Economic Analysis

Description: This report reviews the issues surrounding the medical devices tax within the framework of basic principles surrounding the choice of commodities to tax under excise taxes. The next section describes the tax and its legislative origins. After that, the report analyzes the arguments for retaining and repealing the tax.
Date: November 3, 2014
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Lowry, Sean
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Taxation of Internet Sales and Access: Legal Issues

Description: This report first looks at the Constitution's requirement of nexus, including an examination of whether recent state laws comply with the nexus standard and federal legislation that would affect the standard. It then looks at the scope of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) moratorium on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce and taxes on Internet access.
Date: December 1, 2014
Creator: Lunder, Erika K.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Expenditures and the Federal Budget

Description: Among the options likely to be considered to deal with the long-term fiscal problem is reform of the federal tax system. The growth of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts in 2010 will likely force some action on tax policy. The perception that the federal tax system is too complex and unfair could lead to public support for tax reform. Past efforts to reform the federal tax system have included policies to rein in the use and expense of tax expendi… more
Date: May 26, 2010
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Early Withdrawals and Required Minimum Distributions in Retirement Accounts: Issues for Congress

Description: In response to the economic downturn, Congress considered providing relief to Americans by suspending two tax penalties on defined contribution retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). This report discusses the reasons offered in support of suspending these provisions, as well as the drawbacks. This report also presents data that estimates the number of households that these proposals would impact. Borrowing from retirement plans as an alternative to withdrawals is also discu… more
Date: January 7, 2011
Creator: Topoleski, John J.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Issues and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Legal Analysis of Payments and Tax Relief Policy Options

Description: This report provides analysis of various policy options for providing tax relief to oil spill victims, highlighting the circumstantial differences between previous natural disasters and the current oil spill. The report concludes with a brief summary of current legislative efforts.
Date: July 15, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.; Lunder, Erika K.; Liu, Edward C. & Klein, Heather S.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Description: The first section of this report reviews what countries might be considered tax havens, including a discussion of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) initiatives and lists. The next two sections discuss, in turn, the corporate profit-shifting mechanisms and evidence on the existence and magnitude of profit shifting activity. The following two sections provide the same analysis for individual tax evasion. The report concludes with overviews of alternative policy opti… more
Date: September 3, 2010
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Corporate Income Tax System: Overview and Options for Reform

Description: This report presents information and research on the corporate tax to help policy makers understand and evaluate arguments presented in the tax reform debate. This report first reviews the structure of the corporate income tax. Data on which companies pay the corporate tax, corporate tax revenue, and how the U.S. system compares to the rest of the world are then presented and analyzed. Next, the economic effects of the corporate tax are reviewed--including a discussion of the purpose of the cor… more
Date: December 1, 2014
Creator: Keightley, Mark P. & Sherlock, Molly F.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of the Federal Tax System

Description: The major sources of federal tax revenue are individual income taxes, Social Security and other payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, excise taxes, and estate and gift taxes. This report describes the federal tax structure, provides some statistics on the tax system as a whole, and presents analysis of selected tax concepts.
Date: November 21, 2014
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F. & Marples, Donald J.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Recently Expired Community Assistance Related Tax Provisions ("Tax Extenders"): In Brief

Description: This report briefly summarizes four community assistance-related tax provisions included in the Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act, which are the New Markets Tax Credit, Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives, allocation of bond limitations for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, and the American Samoa Economic Development Credit. The EXPIRE Act would extend each of these provisions for two years (through 2015). A discussion of their economic impact and related extension bill… more
Date: October 21, 2014
Creator: Lowry, Sean
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Bush Tax Cuts and the Economy

Description: The George W. Bush Administration enacted a series of tax cuts through the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. This report examines these tax cuts within the context of the current and long-term economic environment.
Date: December 10, 2010
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion

Description: The first section of this report reviews what countries might be considered tax havens, including a discussion of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) initiatives and lists. The next two sections discuss, in turn, the corporate profit-shifting mechanisms and evidence on the existence and magnitude of profit shifting activity. The following two sections provide the same analysis for individual tax evasion. The report concludes with overviews of alternative policy opti… more
Date: June 4, 2010
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Deductible Expenses: The BP Case

Description: Following the release of BP's second quarter earning statement, which showed a $10 billion reduction in tax liability for oil-spill-related cleanup and expenses, media headlines have generated public concern, and in some cases outrage, over these tax savings. Further, the ability of BP to realize these tax savings has generated a number of inquiries as to how and why BP is entitled to this reduction in tax liability. This report discusses the nature of BP's $10 billion "credit" and the nature o… more
Date: August 11, 2010
Creator: Sherlock, Molly F.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Proposals to Tax Marijuana: An Economic Analysis

Description: This report focuses solely on issues surrounding a potential federal marijuana tax. First, it provides a brief overview of marijuana production. Second, it presents possible justifications for taxes and, in some cases, estimates the level of tax suggested by that rationale. Third, it analyzes possible marijuana tax designs. The report also discusses various tax administration and enforcement issues, such as labeling and tracking.
Date: November 13, 2014
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Lowry, Sean
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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