Program: Fiscal

Scenarios for Fiscal Space. Adapting to the Long-Term Challenges of Climate Change

| 28 January 2020
Fiscal, Discussion Notes | Tags: Climate Change, Fiscal Space, IMF
Climate change poses significant challenges for governments seeking to assess their long-run financial condition. Looking forward, climate change is likely to threaten multiple aspects of a country’s economy. Governments will necessarily be required to provide support in adapting to these challenges. While considerable uncertainty exists ... continue reading

A Lack Of Transparency. Do You Know About The Taxes Your Government Does NOT Collect?

and | 20 January 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Tax Expenditures
All over the planet, governments are desperate for funds to finance social policies, public infrastructure and development projects. Yet, the very same governments routinely forego huge amounts of tax revenues by granting tax incentives to investors, setting lower value added tax rates for the consumption ... continue reading

Tax Expenditures and Complexity in a VAT System: The Case of Brazil

| 7 January 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Tax Expenditures, VAT
Despite its known regressivity, the value-added tax (VAT) has been considered a robust tool for development, especially if integrated into a well-implemented tax-and-benefit system. VAT is often considered a neutral tax that minimizes distortions and is particularly relevant to low- and middle-income countries due to ... continue reading

Housing Taxation in Europe

, , , and | 18 December 2019
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Housing, Tax Expenditures
Tax incentives favouring homeownership are widely used in developed economies. Homeownership is often thought to bring a number of positive contributions, from the promotion of households´ saving to enhanced community engagement. However, housing tax incentives are also considered as a major source of distortions for ... continue reading

What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Means for Tax Expenditures

| 20 June 2019
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Income Tax, Inequality, Tax Expenditures
In a new paper, my former Tax Policy Center colleague Daniel Berger and I calculate that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) modestly reduced the cost of tax expenditures in the individual income tax and made them slightly less regressive. We estimate that ... continue reading