Copy of Tax Policy
Tax Policy
| Introduction to Tax Policy |
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| Definition of Tax |
| 4 Ps |
| Why Have Taxes? |
| No Perfect System |
| Ordinary Income vs. Capital Income |
| Constant Change in Tax Laws |
| Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) |
| Tax Cuts 2.0 |
| Roles of Tax Advisor |
| Types of Taxes |
| Regressive vs. Progressive Taxes |
| Tax Base |
| How Should Governments Tax? |
| Evaluating a Tax System or Specific Tax Proposal |
| **Early History:**Taxes → Revolution |
| Early History: The New Republic |
| Funding Government |
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| Largest Source of Federal Tax Revenue |
| Types of Federal Taxes |
| Payroll Taxes |
| Total Federal Spending |
| Discretionary Spending (2017) |
| Federal Spending by Type |
| Biggest Category of Federal Government Spending |
| Social Security Trust Fund |
| Federal BudgetDeficit / Surplus |
| Changes in Government Debt |
| Negatives of Government Deficits |
| Positives of Government Deficits |
| Tax Cuts and Levels of Debt |
| OECD vs. US |
| Tax Expenditures |
| Congressional Budget Act of 1974 |
| US Annual Reports |
| Income Tax |
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| Civil War Years (1860-64) |
| Between Civil War and World War I |
| Provisions in the US Constitution Related to Taxes |
| **16th Amendment:**US Income Tax |
| Modern Income Tax |
| Tax Brackets and Rates for Unmarried vs. Married |
| Laffer Curve |
| Process |
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| Central Role of Congress |
| Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) |
| Benjamin Franklin |
| Key Players in Making US Tax Laws |
| Tax Bill to Law |
| Timeline for Tax Reform Act of 1986 |
| Problem of the US Senate Rules |
| Budget Reconciliation Process |
| Effects from Tax Changes |
| Static vs. Dynamic Scoring |
| Byrd Rule |
| Ways to Work Around Byrd Rule |
| Tax Cut and Jobs Act Key Provisions |
| Grover Norquist’s Tax Pledge |
| Within Department of Treasure |
| US Treasury Regulations |
| Types of Regulations |
| What if Taxpayer Believes US Treasury Regulations Overstep Treasury Authority? |
| Treasury Guidance |
| Economic Efficiency |
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| Economists’ Baseline: No Taxes |
| Deadweight Loss |
| Economic Distortions Due to Taxation |
| Marginal Tax Rates |
| Average Tax Rate |
| Effective Marginal Tax Rate |
| Effective Tax Rate |
| Tax Base Responsiveness |
| Tax Payers Do Not Always Respond Rationally to Tax Consequences |
| Education Tax Incentives |
| Environment / Energy Taxes |
| Carbon Tax |
| Automatic Economic Stabilizers |
| Fairness |
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| Ability to Pay |
| Annual Accounting Concept |
| Annual Measurement + Progressive Rates = Income Bunching Problem |
| Horizontal vs. Vertical Equity |
| Vertical Equity |
| Income Inequality Trend |
| Tax Loopholes |
| Corporate Income Tax Rates |
| Who Bears Corporate Tax Burden? |
| Marriage Neutrality**(Only 2 Can be Satisfied)** |
| Adam Smith (1776) |
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| Sources of Private Revenue |
| **Maxim 1:**Ability to Pay |
| **Maxim 2:**Certainty & Simplicity |
| **Maxim 3:**Administrable |
| **Maxim 4:**Economic Efficiency |
| Preface to Federal Taxation in America |
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| Federal Tax Reforms |
| Transition to Retro-Liberal Regime |
| Victory of New Regime |
| New Tax Regime |
| Crisis |
| **Early History:**Taxes → Revolution |
| **Early History:**New Republic |
| Design Thinking Innovation Tax Incentives |
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| Market Failure |
| US R&D Expenditures by Source of Funding \n 1953-2018 |
| Design Questions to Consider |
| Externalities - Innovation Tax Incentives |
| WWII Era |
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| Between the World Wars |
| World War II Timeline |
| Income Taxation Moves to Mass Taxation |
| Simplicity & Administrability |
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| Trump Tax Law |
| Sources of Complexity of Federal Laws |
| Adverse Effects of Complexity |
| Net Tax Gap |
| Tax Gap Estimates for Tax Years 2011-2013 |
| IRS Budget ReportJanuary 3, 2020 |
| Underreporting Gap |
| Components of Tax Gap2011-2013 Average |
| IRS Audit Rate as % of All Returns |
| Small Businesses |
| Can Information Reporting Succeed in Digital/Decentralized Economy? |
| IRS Request for Private Sector to Propose Tool for IRS Auditors to Use to Access Social Media to Assist with Tax Audits |
| Complexity - Drafting Tax Laws |
| Simplification |
| Cost of Complexity - Compliance Burden |
| Cost-Benefit Analysis of Tax Regulations |
| Example of US Treasury Cost-Benefit Analysis (or Lack Thereof) |
| Broad Proposals for Simplification |
| Streamlining Audits and Dispute Resolution |
| Transparency vs. Confidentiality |
| Transparency vs. Privacy Interests |
| Presidential Rights |
| Penalties & Amnesties |
| Policy Objective of Penalties |
| Tax Loopholes |
| Certainty |
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| Why Uncertainty Matters |
| Tax Holiday |
| Factors that Drive Uncertainty |
| Retroactive Tax Legislation - Courts |
| Transition Rules & Grandfathering |
| Transition from Income Tax to Consumption Tax |
| Expiring Tax Provisions |
| Bright Lines vs. Soft Doctrines |
| General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) |
| How Governments Can Provide Certainty |
| Tax Position Approval Before Filing |
| Tax Treaty Disputes |
| Post WWII (1945-1970s) |
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| Class Taxation to Mass Taxation |
| Raising Taxes Without Tax Legislation |
| US Government Spending |
| Proliferation of Tax Expenditures |
| Domestic Tax Policy (General) |
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| Sources of Income & Returns |
| Mitt Romney vs Hillary Clinton 2011 Federal Income Tax Returns and Their Average Tax Rates |
| Types of Returns from Capital |
| Income vs. Cash Flow Tax |
| Consumption Tax |
| Expensing = Exempt Routine Return |
| Expensing with Interest Deduction |
| US Treasury Economists Laura Power & Austin Frerick Research Paper, November 2016 |
| Savings Tax Incentives |
| Retirement Plan Tax Policy: Roth Plan vs. Regular Plan |
| Capital Gains Taxation – Current Law |
| Preferential Taxation of Capital Gains |
| Capital Gains |
| State & Local Taxes (SALT) Deduction (Capped at $10,000 in TCJA) |
| State and Local Tax Deduction - Distribution |
| Domestic Tax Policy - Entities |
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| Reagan and 1986 Tax Reform Act |
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| 1970s - Anti-Tax Sentiment Rises |
| Early 1980s - President Reagan (R) |
| 1986 Tax Reform Act |
| Cross-Border Business Activities |
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| How should taxation of residents/non-resident differ under domestic policy? |
| What taxing right should a country have to tax inbound activity? |
| Threshold question: Nexus |
| Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) |
| Formulary Apportionment |
| International Tax Coordination |
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| Governments & NGOs setting the rules |
| Tax Treaties- Overview |
| Tax Treaties -Principles and Trends |
| Stateless Income/Double non-taxation |
| Tax Treaties: Typical Provisions |
| Sourcing Business Income (no slide) |
| OECD Base erosion and Profit shifting (BEPS) Inclusive framework |
| Last 30 Years & TCJA of 2017 |
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| 1990s: Bush Senior (R) and Clinton (D) |
| 2000s: President George Bush (Jr) – 8 Years |
| 2017: The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” |