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Full-Text Articles in Business
Tax Reform And Automatic Stabilization, Thomas J. Kniesner, James P. Ziliak
Tax Reform And Automatic Stabilization, Thomas J. Kniesner, James P. Ziliak
Center for Policy Research
A fundamental property of a progressive income tax is that it provides implicit insurance against shocks to income by dampening the variability of disposable income and consumption. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA) in combination with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) greatly reduced the number of marginal tax brackets and the maximum marginal rate, which limits the stabilizing effect of the tax system on household consumption when pre-tax income fluctuates. We examine the effect of the federal income tax reforms of the 1980s on the associated degree of automatic stabilization of consumption. The empirical framework derives …
Estate Taxes, Life Insurance, And Small Business, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John Phillips, Harvey Rosen
Estate Taxes, Life Insurance, And Small Business, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John Phillips, Harvey Rosen
Center for Policy Research
One criticism of the estate tax is that it prevents the owners of family businesses from passing their enterprises onto their children. The problem is that it may be difficult to pay estate taxes without liquidating the business. A natural question is why individuals with such concerns do not purchase enough life insurance to meet their estate tax liabilities. This paper examines whether and how people use life insurance to deal with the estate tax. We find that, other things being the same, business owners purchase more life insurance than other individuals. However, on the margin, their insurance purchases are …
The Eitc: Expectation, Knowledge, Use, And Economic And Social Mobility, Timothy M. Smeeding, Katherine Ross Phillips, Michael O'Connor
The Eitc: Expectation, Knowledge, Use, And Economic And Social Mobility, Timothy M. Smeeding, Katherine Ross Phillips, Michael O'Connor
Center for Policy Research
This paper presents initial findings on the economic impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) based on a sample of Chicago area households that filed tax returns in the spring of 1998. Respondents reported on their detailed use of the funds to pay bills, purchase new items, or save. Asset information on the households was also gathered, along with questions regarding the ability of households to make particular expenditures without the help of the EITC. Uses of the EITC are divided into those that improve social mobility (e.g., purchase a car, pay tuition, change housing) and those that primarily …