Conditions are ripe for harvesting tax benefits provided to private owners of forest land. As our exploding population paves more paradise, government agencies provide economic incentives to motivate private landowners to engage in conservation activities. With real estate values escalating to...

#BlackTaxpayersMatterThe world has witnessed the brutal suffocation of George Floyd on a concrete sidewalk in Minneapolis. While this is but one more example of centuries of relentless violence against Black people, many are hoping that this tragic death might be a catalyst for meaningful...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes available to certain lower and middle-income individuals a refundable tax credit, the Premium Tax Credit (PTC), designed to help them pay the premiums on their qualified health care plans. To achieve Congress’s goal of making health...

Certain federal, state, and local government employees do not pay into the Social Security system, but rather pay into alternative government pension plans. For purposes of the Social Security Act, where a worker pays into an alternative government pension plan, the worker’s employment...

Twenty-five percent of all public employees, or more than five million state and local workers as well as one million federal workers, participate in alternative plans to Social Security. These employers and employees do not pay Social Security taxes or receive Social Security credit for their...

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller The Access Technology Affordability Act of 2017 (the Act) (H.R. 1734/S.732) provides a refundable tax credit to offset out of pocket expenses of up to $2,500 for “qualified access technology” for qualifying blind...

Few economic indicators have more salience and pervasive financial impact on everyday lives in the United States than poverty measures. Nevertheless, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and legislators generally do not understand the details of poverty measure mechanics. These detailed...

“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Rep. John Robert Lewis (1940-2020)It seems fitting that the civil rights movement was born in the district that John Robert Lewis represented in Congress for 34 years until his death on July 17. In the 1960s,...

While the aggregate tax system is mildly progressive, state and local tax systems are notably regressive. The lowest 95 percent of all income earners pay on average a higher percent of their income in state and local taxes than their share of aggregate income. By comparison, the top 5 percent of...

Despite this phenomenal success and the Biden administration’s strong support, a divided Congress narrowly failed to extend these enhancements to 2022. The adverse impact was immediate. The January 2022 monthly child poverty rate increased by more than 40 percent to 17 percent in January 2022,...