Congressional Research Service Reports - 834 Matching Results

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Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, P.L. 107-16) repeals the estate tax in 2010. During the phase-out period, the new law increases the exempt amount to $3.5 million by 2009 ($1.5 million in 2005), lowers the top rate to 45% by 2007 (the top rate in 2005 is 47%), and repeals the federal credit for state death taxes in 2005. The federal gift tax remains though the rate is reduced to the top personal income tax rate (35% in 2005). After repeal of the estate tax, carryover basis replaces step-up in basis for assets transferred at death. The legislation includes an exemption from carryover basis for capital gains of $1.3 million (and an additional $3 million for a surviving spouse). However, the estate tax provision in EGTRRA automatically sunsets December 31, 2010.
An Overview of Tax Benefits for Higher Education Expenses: Report on tax benefits that can be used for higher education expenses, including the associated benefits, student loans, incentives, beneficiaries, and more.
Tax Reform Act of 1986: Public Law 99-514: "This Info Pack includes a summary of the [Tax Reform Act of 1986] and provides information on the following topics: general provisions affecting individuals, treatment of real estate and second homes, retirement savings provisions and pensions, [and] corporate tax change overview" (p. 1).
Tax Return Confidentiality: No Description Available.
The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act: Context and Content: Debate over natural gas pricing has included the consideration of a windfall profit tax, with the oil windfall profit tax as a possible guide to what might be levied on natural gas at the wellhead. This report reviews the issues surrounding the enactment of the crude oil windfall profit tax, spells out its provisions, and provides data on the revenues collected and anticipated.
The Internal Revenue Service's Use of Private Debt Collection Agencies: Current Status and Issues for Congress: Under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA, P.L. 108-357), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has acquired for the second time in its history the legal authority to hire private debt collection agencies (PCAs) to assist in the collection of certain individual tax debt. The grant of authority grew out of a proposal made by the Bush Administration in its budget request for the IRS in both FY2004 and FY2005. This report focuses on IRS’s current plan for hiring PCAs to collect delinquent individual taxes and the policy issues it raises. It begins with an examination of the scope of IRS’s authority to use PCAs under the AJCA and concludes with a discussion of the main issues for Congress as it oversees IRS’s efforts to implement and manage the private tax debt collection initiative. The report will be updated to reflect significant legislative action and new developments related to the initiative
Taxes and Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Reconciliation: A Brief Summary: On April 28, 2005, Congress approved an FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95) with reconciliation instructions calling for three bills: a bill containing spending cuts ($1.5 billion in FY2006 and $34.7 billion over five years); a bill increasing the public debt limit by $781 billion (to $8,965 billion); and a bill containing tax cuts.
Proposed Federal Income Tax Exclusion for Civilians Serving in Combat Zones: No Description Available.
Higher Education Tax Credits: An Economic Analysis: This report provides analysis of the education tax credit program in the context of issues facing Congress in regard to higher education. This report begins with a review of the economic rationale for subsidizing education, then describes federal subsidies for education in general and the education tax credits in particular. An analysis of the education credits follows and the report concludes with a discussion of education tax credit policy options.
Internet Taxation: Issues and Legislation in the 109th Congress: This report discusses issues of state and local taxation of Internet transactions because commerce conducted by parties in different states over the Internet.
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): Recent changes in the Nation's tax laws have made Individual Retirement Accounts available to many people previously excluded. This report provides general information on IRAs including material explaining these recent changes and their consequences.
The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals: Legislative Initiatives and Their Revenue Effects: This report discusses legislative initiatives regarding the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, which was originally enacted to ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of federal taxes.
Extending the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Tax Cuts: This report discusses the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, and the Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA). Since all of the tax reductions provisions of all three of these acts expire at some point in the future, Congress faces the issue of whether to extend and/or make the reductions permanent. Extending these tax reductions, however, is likely to significantly reduce federal revenues in the future.
Major Tax Issues in the 109th Congress: Report on tax issues facing Congress in late 2005, including state of the economy, federal budget, Hurricane Katrina, and more.
Federal Income Tax Thresholds for Selected Years: 1996 through 2006: No Description Available.
Taxes and Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Reconciliation: A Brief Summary: On April 28, 2005, Congress approved an FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res.95) with reconciliation instructions calling for three bills: a bill containing spending cuts ($1.5 billion in FY2006 and $34.7 billion over five years); a bill increasing the public debt limit by $781 billion (to $8,965 billion); and a bill containing tax cuts.
Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation:: No Description Available.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Percentage of Total Tax Returns and Credit Amount by State: The earned income tax credit (EITC), established in the tax code in 1975, offers cash aid to working parents with relatively low incomes who care for dependent children. The EITC is the only federal cash aid available to all working poor families with children. For eligible filers with income tax liability, the EITC reduces their taxes.
Gasoline Excise Tax - Historical Revenues: Fact Sheet: This report provides a table concerning the collection of gasoline excise taxes from FY1933-FY2002.
Homeland Security: 9/11 Victim Relief Funds: In the first days following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an unprecedented number of Americans contributed over $2.7 billion in donations to assist in the relief of victims. According to a 2004 Rand Corporation study, that money amounted to only a modest share (7%) of the $38.1 billion “quantified benefits” provided to victims of the terrorist attacks. The Rand Study reported that payments worth $19.6 billion (51%) were disbursed by insurers and $15.8 billion (42%) were disbursed by government programs.
Tax Expenditures Compared with Outlays by Budget Function: Fact Sheet: This report is on Tax Expenditures Compared with Outlays by Budget Function: Fact Sheet.
Tax Benefits Enacted in the 108th Congress for Military Personnel: The Military Families Tax Relief Act (MFTRA) contains several provisions that: 1) increase the death gratuity payment and make it fully tax-exempt; 2) provide members of the military with extended time to defer capital gains resulting from the sale of their principal residences; 3) exempt from income benefits received from the Department of Defense Homeowners Assistance Program; 4) expand combat zone filing rules to include military personnel involved in contingency operations; 5) extend the criteria defining membership in veterans’ organizations; 6) create an above-the-line deduction for overnight travel expenses of National Guard and reserve members; and a few other items.
Social Security: Raising or Eliminating the Taxable Earnings Base: Social Security taxes are levied on earnings up to a maximum level set each year. In 2004, this maximum — or what is referred to as the taxable earnings base — is $87,900. There is no similar base for the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) portion of the tax; all earnings are taxable for HI purposes. Elimination of the HI base was proposed by President Clinton and enacted in 1993, effectively beginning in 1994. Recently others have proposed that the base for Social Security be raised or eliminated as well. They complain that taxing earnings only up to a certain level creates a regressive tax. They point out that 94% of all workers whose earnings fall below this level have a greater proportion of earnings taxed than the 6% whose earnings exceed it.
Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues: The 2001 tax revision began a phaseout of the estate tax, by increasing exemptions and lowering rates. The estate tax is scheduled to be repealed in 2010 and a provision to tax appreciation on inherited assets (in excess of a limit) will be substituted. The 2001 tax provisions sunset, however, so that absent a change making them permanent the estate tax will revert, in 2011, to prior, pre-2001, law.
Tax Deductions for Catastrophic Risk Insurance Reserves: Explanation and Economic Analysis: No Description Available.
List of Temporary Tax Provisions: "Extenders" Expiring in 2005: Several temporary tax provisions will expire this year. Often referred to as “extenders,” these provisions were originally enacted with an expiration date that may well be extended. Several have been extended numerous times in the past, sometimes after their expiration date. The extenders provide special tax treatment for certain types of activities and investment and benefit both individuals and corporations. They occur in a variety of policy areas including wage credits to support employment of certain populations; excise taxes on fuel, tires, and other commodities; energy production incentives; deductions for charitable contributions; special depreciation allowances; and many others.
Should Credit Unions Be Taxed?: Credit unions are financial cooperatives organized by people with a common bond; they are the only depository institutions that are exempt from the federal corporate income tax. As financial cooperatives, credit unions only accept deposits of members and make loans only to members, other credit unions, or credit union organizations. Many Members of Congress advocate a reliance on market forces rather than tax policy to allocate resources. Furthermore, some Members of Congress are interested in additional sources of revenue in order to either reduce the deficit, offset the cost of higher federal outlays, or make up for tax cuts elsewhere. Consequently, the exemption of credit unions from federal income taxes has been questioned.
State Investment Tax Credits, the Commerce Clause, and Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler: No Description Available.
Hurricane Katrina: The Response by the Internal Revenue Service: After Hurricane Katrina, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced several tax relief measures to aid affected individuals and businesses. They cover a range of subjects, from postponing deadlines for paying taxes and filing returns for individuals, employee benefit plans and tax-exempt bond issuers, to waiving penalties for certain fuel excise taxes. This report summarizes these measures and discusses the statutory authority for the IRS’s actions.
Income Tax Relief in Times of Disaster: In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, disaster areas have been designated in 64 parishes in Louisiana, 52 counties in Mississippi, six counties in Alabama, and three counties in Florida. Special provisions are available for taxpayers to help recover from the impact of a disaster.
Summary of Joint Committee on Taxation's Staff Proposals Relating to Charitable Contributions: No Description Available.
Taxes, Exports and Investment: ETI/FSC and Domestic Investment Proposals in the 108th Congress: No Description Available.
The Effect of the President’s Dividend Relief Proposal on Corporate Tax Subsidies: The first section of this report explains how these excludable dividend amounts (EDAs) work and how they affect the value of corporate tax preferences. The second section of the report details alternative approaches and their effects on corporate tax subsidies. The next section of the report explores the rationale for EDAs. The final section concludes with a review of general policy issues, including a discussion of the general types of corporate tax preferences currently allowed and a discussion of possible alternative approaches.
H.R. 3768: the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005: This report compares the provisions in H.R. 3768, the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005, as passed by the House with those in the amended version of the bill that was passed by the Senate.
Tax Policy Options After Hurricane Katrina: No Description Available.
The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals: Legislative Initiatives and Their Revenue Effects: This report discusses legislative initiatives regarding the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, which was originally enacted to ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of federal taxes.
Estate Tax Legislation in the 109th Congress: Under provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, P.L. 107-16), the estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax are scheduled to be repealed effective January 1, 2010. But the estate tax repeal, and all other provisions of EGTRRA, are scheduled to sunset December 31, 2010. If the sunset provision is not repealed, or the law is not otherwise changed beforehand, in 2011 estate and gift tax law will return to what it would have been had EGTRRA never been enacted. The unified estate and gift taxes will be reinstated with an exclusion amount of $1 million. The maximum tax rate will revert to 55%.
The Flat Tax, Value-Added Tax, and National Retail Sales Tax: Overview of the Issues: The current income tax system is criticized for costly complexity and damage to economic efficiency. Reform suggestions have proliferated, including a national retail sales tax, several versions of a value-added tax (VAT), the much-discussed “Flat Tax” on consumption (the “Hall-Rabushka” tax), the “USA” proposal for a direct consumption tax, and revisions of the income tax. The President has indicated that major tax reform will be a priority item in his second term.
Small Business Tax Benefits: Overview and Economic Analysis: No Description Available.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Tax Credit: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit are temporary provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Since their initiation in the mid-1990s, the Congress has allowed the credits to lapse four of the five times they were up for reauthorization. In each instance, they were reinstated retroactive to their expiration dates as part of large tax-related measures. The employment tax credits never have been addressed independently of broader legislation. This report describes the WOTC and WtW Tax Credit and outlines issues for members of Congress.
Extending the 2001, 2003, and 2004 Tax Cuts: This report discusses the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, and the Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA). Since all of the tax reductions provisions of all three of these acts expire at some point in the future, Congress faces the issue of whether to extend and/or make the reductions permanent. Extending these tax reductions, however, is likely to significantly reduce federal revenues in the future.
Selected Tax Law Changes Effective January 1, 2002: This report is a listing of the tax changes which were enacted during 2001 and effective at the beginning of 2002
State Estate and Gift Tax Revenue: P.L. 107-16, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, repeals the federal estate tax for decedents that die in 2010. In addition, the act repeals the credit for state estate taxes for decedents dying after December 31, 2004, and replaces the credit with a deduction. In most states, the repeal of the tax and the significant increase in the federal exclusion will also repeal or diminish state estate, inheritance, and gift taxes.
Fundamental Tax Reform: Options for the Mortgage Interest Deduction: No Description Available.
Individual Accounts: What Rate of Return Would They Earn?: It has been proposed to add individual accounts to Social Security in which investors could hold private securities. Calculations that project the earnings of individual accounts typically presume that they will earn a rate of return equal or close to the historical rate of return. But is there evidence that future rates of return will differ from history in predictable ways?
U.S. Taxation of Overseas Investment and Income: Background and Issues in 2005: This report is on U.S. Taxation of Overseas Investment and Income: Background and Issues in 2005.
Energy Tax Incentives: A Comparison of the Senate Finance Committee Bill (S.1149) and the House Bill (H.R.6): The 108th Congress is considering two major bills to provide tax incentives to increase the supply of, and reduce the demand for, fossil fuels and electricity: S.1149, the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2003, approved by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) on April 2, 2003 (superseding S. 597), and H.R. 6, introduced as H.R. 1531 and approved by the House on April 11, 2003, by a vote of 247-175.
International Tax Provisions of the American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act (H.R. 5095): No Description Available.
Political Organizations Under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code: Political organizations have the primary purpose of influencing federal, state, or local elections and conducting similar activities. Those that qualify under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code are taxed only on a certain income. Under the Code, 527 organizations are subject to reporting requirements that involve registration, the periodic disclosure of contributions and expenditures, and the annual filing of tax returns. Section 527 organizations must also comply with applicable campaign finance laws. This report will briefly describe these organizations and the reporting requirements they face under the Code. The report will be updated as events warrant.
Political Organizations Under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code: No Description Available.

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