–Congressional Research Service Says Tax Expends Cost $1.1T A Year
–CRS Study: US Has More 200 Tax Expenditures; Top 20 Very Expensive
–Tax Policy Center Says Many Tax Expenditures Are Spending Programs

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Two new reports on tax expenditures in the U.S.
federal budget confirm that these tax provisions are hugely
expensive and that the way they are calculated shapes our current
understanding of the composition of the federal budget.

The Congressional Research Service, in its most recent report on
tax expenditures, says that there are now more than 200 tax
expenditures in the federal budget and they will cost more than $1.1
trillion in annual lost revenue in 2014.

The CRS report notes that the revenue lost from tax expenditures is
“highly concentrated in a relatively small number — the largest 20 tax
expenditures account for 90% of the total revenue loss of all tax
expenditures.”

The largest tax expenditures for individuals are the exclusion of
employer health insurance ($164 billion), the exclusion of employer
pensions ($163 billion), the mortgage interest deduction ($100 billion)
and the exclusion of Medicare ($76 billion).

The CRS report notes that many of these provisions are very popular
and suggests that while many policymakers speak generally of eliminating
tax expenditures, this may be very difficult to accomplish politically.

“Given the barriers to eliminating or reducing most tax
expenditures, it may prove difficult to gain more than $100 billion to
$150 billion in additional tax revenues through base broadening,” the
CRS report says.

A separate report by the Tax Policy Center on tax expenditures says
that many of these tax preferences should be viewed as spending programs
tucked into the tax code. The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of
the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.

“Adding these spending-like tax preferences to federal outlays and
receipts makes the government appear about 4% of GDP larger,” the
Tax Policy report says.

Lawmakers from both parties have spoken of dramatically limiting
tax expenditures as a way to lower marginal tax rates in a broad tax
reform effort. Few have mentioned which specific tax provisions should
be eliminated.

Other lawmakers have noted that the $1.1 trillion annual cost of
tax expenditures is about the same size of the nation’s budget deficit.
They have said that cutting tax expenditures should be a critical step
in a comprehensive deficit reduction effort. They also have avoided
discussing which specific provisions should be eliminated.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MFU$$$,MCU$$$]