Analyzes the efficiency costs of promoting access to health care through subsidies for employment-based insurance. Suggests that alternative policies may meet the same objectives.

Discusses the revenue consequences of cutting tax rates on capital gains. Develops a model of taxpayer responses to transitory (not permanent) tax changes and tests its implications using data on asset transactions in the Sales of Capital Assets panel compiled by the IRS. Finds evidence that...

Continuation of current U.S. fiscal policy will lead to an enormous accumulation of debt with potentially disastrous economic consequences. Exacerbated by the recent economic turmoil and fueled by the willingness of creditors to lend at very low interest rates, there is significant risk that...

The term "tax expenditure" refers to departures from the normal tax structure designed to favor a particular industry, activity, or class of persons. Most budget experts view the tax expenditure budget as a useful tool in managing the size and scope of the federal government, but a growing...

We examine workers' disposition of pre-retirement lump-sum distributions, using policy changes in 1986 and 1992 as natural experiments. We find that higher taxes on cash-outs increase rollovers, consistent with both rational and behavioral motives. Several results, however, only make sense in a...

Originally targeted at high-income households, the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) is now on the verge of switching from a "class" tax to a "mass" tax. Under current law, the AMT will encroach dramatically on the middle-class over the next decade and will become the de facto tax system...

Suggests that a substantial part of the past variance in realization elasticities may have been due to the simultaneity between marginal tax rates and capital gains realizations. Finds that simulation is important for estimating the equilibrium response of individual taxpayers to changes in tax...

We examine the evolution of marginal federal income tax rates from 1980 to 1995 using panel and cross-sectional data. Marginal rates fell dramatically for most taxpayers. Whereas in 1980 three-quarters of taxpayers faced statutory tax rates above 15 percent, less than one-quarter of taxpayers...

We examine retirement savers’ choices between front-and back-loaded tax incentives, such as traditional and Roth IRAs. With equal dollar contribution limits, back-loaded plans shelter more funds than front-loaded plans. This implies that Roth IRAs can be the preferred choice even for investors...

High-income taxpayers realize the overwhelming majority of capital gains, but over a 10-year period, one-third of U.S. taxpayers report gains on their tax returns. Sales of corporate stock account for more gains than sales of any other asset and most capitol gains arise from returns with many...