Cliff effects in the Internal Revenue Code trigger a sudden increase of federal tax liability when some attribute of a taxpayer — most commonly income — exceeds a particular threshold value. As a result, two taxpayers in nearly identical economic situations can face considerably different...

The 2017 tax legislation brought sweeping changes to the rules for taxing individuals and business, the deductibility of state and local taxes, and the international tax regime. The complex legislation was drafted and passed through a rushed and secretive process intended to limit public comment...

Tax compliance in the United States has long relied on information from centralized intermediaries — the financial institutions, employers, and brokers that help ensure income is reported and taxes are paid. Yet while the IRS remains tied to these centralized entities, consumers and businesses...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December 2017, places a $10,000 limit on the federal deduction for payments of state and local taxes (“SALT”). Several states with high numbers of adversely affected taxpayers have proposed or enacted legislative workarounds to this new cap. Much has...

This report describes various tax games, roadblocks, and glitches in the tax legislation currently before Congress, titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The complex rules proposed in the House and Senate bills will allow new tax games and planning opportunities for well-advised taxpayers,...

Several states have passed — and many more are considering — new tax credits that would reduce tax liability based on donations made by a taxpayer in support of various state, local or non-profit programs. In general, taxpayer contributions to qualifying organizations — including public...

Tax progressivity is undeniably central to both the detailed analytics of tax policy and the rhetorical arguments commonly used in public discourse. Yet there are surprisingly inconsistent and inaccurate uses of this seemingly objective term. By theorizing progressivity's constitutive elements...

The IPO parade of 2019 is making the early shareholders of technology startups such as Uber, Lyft, Slack, and Pinterest (among others) staggeringly wealthy. Now that these companies are publicly traded, equity owners can cash out at a huge profit. This profit would normally be taxed at long-term...