Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Roberton Williams on Tax Policy

Many have suggested that reducing or eliminating the tax exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) could generate significant additional tax revenue to fund expansions in health insurance coverage. In this paper, we focus on two specific policy design elements: (1) a cap, or dollar limit, on the amount of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums excluded from taxable income; and (2) an index that determines how this cap might grow over time. Our analysis shows that limiting the tax exclusion would provide substantial funding for health reform and mitigate the huge inequities built into the current treatment of employer premiums.

This brief, part of the Urban Institute's "Recession and Recover" series, assesses the extent to which the Earned Income Tax Credit can help families hit by job losses and falling incomes during a recession.

Tax and fiscal policy will loom large in the next president's domestic policy agenda. Nearly all of the tax cuts enacted since 2001 expire at the end of 2010 and the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) threatens to ensnare tens of millions of Americans. While a permanent fix palatable to both political parties has proven elusive, both candidates have proposed major tax changes. This report describes how we performed our modeling and analysis, outlines the major tax proposals, and discusses the implications of their policies for the revenue raised, taxpayer economic activity, and the distribution of the tax burden.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to an updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.8 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. Under current law, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would expire in 2010 and the Alternative Minimum Tax would remain in full force.

Listen to Roberton Williams, an expert on federal tax and budget issues, discuss McCain and Obama's tax plans and break down their differences.

Listen to Roberton Williams, an expert on federal tax and budget issues, explain what the McCain and Obama tax plans mean for voters.

The presidential candidates have all called for simplifications to the tax code. The U.S. tax system does much more than raise revenue; it redistributes income and rewards certain choices, like having children, going to college, and saving for retirement. And even the simplest taxes need detailed rules and collection mechanisms.

Urban Institute's Roberton Williams answers questions about the Tax Policy Briefing Book, a new online resource guide with concise explanations about tax policy issues. Williams is a principal research associate for the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.

One measure of the tax burden imposed on households is their effective tax rate (ETR)—the total taxes they pay measured as a percentage of their pretax income. ETRs vary across types of households because of differences in sources and levels of income and in how the tax system treats taxpayers in different situations. Each year the Congressional Budget Office estimates ETRs for individual and corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and excise taxes for different types of households, as well as all households as a group.

The federal, state, and local governments collected nearly $3.9 trillion in revenue in 2004, roughly one-third of GDP. Almost half that amount went to the federal government, which turned around and passed more than $400 billion on to state and local governments (90 percent to the states). For their part, the states brought in almost $1.2 trillion of their own revenue, 30 percent of which they passed on to local governments to help finance education and other activities. Finally, local governments used property taxes and other sources to collect nearly $800 billion.