Estimates the marriage tax by income class (based on OBRA '93 changes in the rate schedule and EITC) using samples of actual tax returns. In 1994, 52 percent of married couples paid a marriage tax of $1,244, while 38 percent received a subsidy of $1,399.

Examines the states' experience with income tax indexing and sees what lesson can be drawn from it. Describes the indexing statutes, and estimate simple econometric models of both the decisions to adopt indexing and to renege on promise to index.

Medicare currently transfers roughly $200 billion annually to the elderly. The difference between medicare expenditures flowing into the state and annual Medicare taxes leaving the state--both on an annual and a lifetime basis--varies widely across states. Lifetime Medicare transfers, defined as...

This paper examines how the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) affects the weighted average marginal tax rates that apply to various components of taxable income and the subsidy rates on various income tax deductions. It also considers how several AMT reform proposals would affect the number of AMT...

Using the TAXSIM model for the period 1962-95, we consider the federal tax system's impact as an automatic stabilizer. Despite the many changes in the tax system, there has been relatively little change in its role as an automatic stabilizer. We estimate that individual federal taxes offset...

We study the effects of a change in financial aid policy introduced by a Northeastern university in 1998. Prior to that time, the university’s financial aid packages for low income students consisted of grants, loans, and campus jobs. After the change, the entire loan portion of the package...