We reexamine the distributional effects of the 2001 and 2003 tax changes, incorporating two factors omitted in standard distributional estimates: the financing of the tax changes, and the implications of behavioral responses for both after–tax income and other aspects of well–being. Using...

The President's proposal to replace the current exclusion of employer–paid health insurance premiums with a standard deduction for qualifying health insurance would level the playing field for employment–based coverage and private plans but would risk the loss of insurance for many workers,...

This paper analyzes proposals to remedy tax–induced distortions in health care by using new tax incentives and retaining all of the existing distortionary tax incentives. In the process of remedying some distortions, this approach magnifies others—most notably increasing the total tax...

The Social Security earnings test reduces payments to beneficiaries whose labor income exceeds a given threshold. We investigate the impact of this rule by studying the significant changes in its structure over the past 25 years. We find that the earnings test exerts no robust influence on the...

Under traditional formulations, lower capital income tax rates reduce the user cost of capital and stimulate investment. The traditional approach, however, implicitly or explicitly considers a revenue–neutral reduction in capital income taxation. We extend the traditional approach by...

The effects of fiscal policy on the economy have received substantial attention in academic and policy circles. We review this literature in light of recent policy debates and new research and obtain three results. First, other things equal, deficits reduce national saving and future national...

This paper incorporates retirement saving incentives into the Tax Policy Center microsimulation model and analyzes the distributional effects of current tax preferences for saving. As a share of income, tax–preferred saving incentives provide the largest benefits to households with income...