Recent econometric studies of the effect of taxes on charitable giving have called into question the behavioral parameters derived from cross-section models. In particular, these studies imply that taxes affect contributions primarily by influencing their timing, not their long-term levels. The...

Research on the distribution of income during the 1980s has identified a trend towards increasing inequality, which may be the continuation and acceleration of trends spanning several decades. This paper explores to what extent behavioral responses to the tax changes during the 1980s may also...

This paper examines the itemized deduction for donations of property to charitable organizations, its benefits to charitable organizations and their beneficiaries, and the associated tax expenditures. In 2005, taxpayers deducted $48 billion in noncash donations, resulting in a tax expenditure of...

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) incorporated the main elements of the Bush Administration’s tax proposals. The principal feature of this legislation was the reduction in individual...

Proposals to reform the tax treatment of charitable contributions would extend the charitable deduction to non–itemizers and impose a floor under the charitable deduction of all taxpayers. This paper uses PSID and IRS data along with common measures of tax sensitivity to explore the likely...

While many studies have documented the long–term trend of increasing income inequality in the U.S. economy, there has been less focus on income mobility and the potential opportunity for upward mobility. Data from panels of individual income tax returns suggest that there was considerable...

While cross-sectional data show increasing income inequality in the United States, it is also important to examine how incomes change over time. Using income tax data, this paper provides new evidence on long-term and intergenerational mobility, and persistence at the top of the income...