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Brief Facts and Statistics

Description: This report provides facts and statistics about Social Security that are frequently requested by Members of Congress and their staffs. It includes information about Social Security taxes and benefits, the program's impact on its recipients' incomes, federal tax receipts, federal spending and the economy, administrative information, and selected facts about Medicare.
Date: January 26, 2006
Creator: Sidor, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Credits for Individual Development Accounts

Description: An individual development account (IDA) is a structured savings instrument for lower income individuals. This report discusses legislation introduced in the 108th Congress to establish IDA programs utilizing tax benefits to encourage program development.
Date: February 8, 2006
Creator: Scott, Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Income Tax Treatment of the Family

Description: The first section summarizes the major features of the tax law affecting families and family choices, and how they developed over time, including the relatively recent introduction of large benefits for children at low and moderate income levels, a reversal of a trend in the past that tended to reduce these benefits through the erosion of the real value of the personal exemptions. It also summarizes the origin of the marriage penalty and marriage bonus. The following two sections first discuss … more
Date: December 19, 2006
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Benefits for Health Insurance: Current Legislation

Description: This report discusses a variety of potential proposals to change the tax benefits for health insurance and medical expenses, including measures that would expand the availability and attractiveness of health savings accounts (HSAs), or employer tax credits.
Date: February 6, 2006
Creator: Lyke, Bob
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Calculating Estate Tax Liability: 2001 to 2011 and Beyond

Description: This report provides a basic explanation of how to calculate the federal estate tax liability for a taxable estate of any given size, using the schedule of graduated marginal tax rates and the applicable exclusion amount or the applicable credit amount for the year of death. The “applicable exclusion amount” is the amount of any decedent’s taxable estate that is free from tax. It is known informally as the estate tax “exemption.” The “applicable credit amount” or “unified credit” is the corresp… more
Date: November 3, 2006
Creator: Noto, Nonna A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Firms That Incorporate Abroad for Tax Purposes: Corporate “Inversions” and “Expatriation”

Description: This report provides information about the Corporate "Inversions" and "Expatriation" on Firms That Incorporate Abroad for Tax Purposes where increasing number of U.S firms have altered their structure by substituting a foreign parent corporation for a domestic one.
Date: April 19, 2006
Creator: Brumbaugh, David L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline and the Highway Trust Fund: A Short History

Description: Excise taxes have long been a part of our country's revenue history. The federal government first imposed its excise tax on gasoline at a one-cent per gallon rate in 1932 to correct a federal budgetary imbalance. The burden for much of the tax ultimately falls on the consumer. The Highway Revenue Act of 1956 established the federal Highway Trust Fund for the direct purpose of funding the construction of an interstate highway system and aiding in the finance of primary, secondary, and urban rout… more
Date: April 4, 2006
Creator: Jackson, Pamela J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State and Local Sales and Use Taxes and Internet Commerce

Description: In theory, state sales and use taxes are based on the destination principle, which prescribes that taxes should be paid where the consumption takes place. States are concerned because they anticipate gradually losing more tax revenue as the growth of Internet commerce allows more residents to buy products from vendors located out-of-state and evade use taxes. The size of the revenue loss from Internet commerce and subsequent tax evasion is uncertain. Congress is involved in this issue because c… more
Date: March 9, 2006
Creator: Maguire, Steven
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, discusses the issues associated with the current system, and describes current legislation to amend the AMT. The report will be updated as legislative action warrants.
Date: May 22, 2006
Creator: Esenwein, Gregg A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet

Description: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 authorized a non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for eligible individuals who contribute to an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The maximum credit is 50% of retirement contributions up to $2,000. This credit can reduce the amount of taxes owed, but the tax credit itself is non-refundable. The maximum credit is the lesser of either $1,000 or the tax that the individual would have owed without the credit. Eligibility… more
Date: August 7, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Higher Education Tax Credits: An Economic Analysis

Description: This report provides analysis of the education tax credit program in the context of issues facing Congress in regard to higher education. This report begins with a review of the economic rationale for subsidizing education, then describes federal subsidies for education in general and the education tax credits in particular. An analysis of the education credits follows and the report concludes with a discussion of education tax credit policy options.
Date: January 17, 2006
Creator: Jackson, Pamela J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Internal Revenue Service's Use of Private Debt Collection Agencies: Current Status and Issues for Congress

Description: Under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (AJCA, P.L. 108-357), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has acquired for the second time in its history the legal authority to hire private debt collection agencies (PCAs) to assist in the collection of certain individual tax debt. The grant of authority grew out of a proposal made by the Bush Administration in its budget request for the IRS in both FY2004 and FY2005. This report focuses on IRS’s current plan for hiring PCAs to collect delinquent in… more
Date: January 11, 2006
Creator: Guenther, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Effects of Government Expenditures and Revenues on the Economy and Economic Well-Being: A Cross-National Analysis

Description: Congress passed and the President signed a reconciliation bill (P.L. 109-171) to reduce mandatory spending by $39 billion between FY2006 and FY2010. A revenue reduction reconciliation bill (H.R. 4297) has not been enacted as of the date of this report. Many argue that tax and spending reductions will stimulate economic growth, whereas many others argue that tax cuts will lead to a larger deficit with adverse economic effects and that spending cuts will reduce critical government services. This … more
Date: April 5, 2006
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues

Description: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, P.L. 107-16) repeals the estate tax in 2010. During the phase-out period, the new law increases the exempt amount to $3.5 million by 2009 ($1.5 million in 2005), lowers the top rate to 45% by 2007 (the top rate in 2005 is 47%), and repeals the federal credit for state death taxes in 2005. The federal gift tax remains though the rate is reduced to the top personal income tax rate (35% in 2005). After repeal of the estate tax,… more
Date: January 19, 2006
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G. & Maguire, Steven
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Advisory Panel's Tax Reform Proposals

Description: In early 2005, the President appointed a tax reform advisory panel to formulate tax reform proposals. The report of the President’s Advisory Panel on Tax Reform, issued in November 2005, recommended two reform plans to consider: 1) a revised income tax, referred to as the simplified income tax (SIT); and 2) a consumption tax coupled with a tax on financial income, referred to as the growth and investment tax (GIT). This report discusses the provisions and implications of these two taxes in deta… more
Date: July 13, 2006
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Effects of Government Expenditures and Revenues on the Economy and Economic Well-Being: A Cross-National Analysis

Description: Congress passed and the President signed a reconciliation bill (P.L. 109-171) to reduce mandatory spending by $39 billion between FY2006 and FY2010. A revenue reduction reconciliation bill (H.R. 4297) has not been enacted as of the date of this report. Many argue that tax and spending reductions will stimulate economic growth, whereas many others argue that tax cuts will lead to a larger deficit with adverse economic effects and that spending cuts will reduce critical government services. This … more
Date: April 5, 2006
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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