About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 Elke Asen, A Carbon Tax to Make the TCJA's Individual Provisions Permanent 1 (2020)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/tfcrbn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 



A Carbon Tax to Make the TCJA's

Individual Provisions Permanent


FISCAL
FACT
No. 729
Sept. 2020


Elke Asent
Policy Analyst


The Tax Foundation is the nation's
leading independent tax policy
research organization. Since 1937,
our research, analysis, and experts
have informed smarter tax policy
at the federal, state, and global
levels. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization.
©2020 Tax Foundation
Distributed under
Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0
Editor, Rachel Shuster
Designer, Dan Carvajal
Tax Foundation
1325 G Street, NW, Suite 950
Washington, DC 20005


202.464.6200
taxfoundation.org


  At the end of 2025, most  individual income tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and
   Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire, increasing taxes on individuals.

  Making  these provisions permanent  is estimated to reduce federal tax
   revenues  by $176 billion annually (in 2021 dollars).

  While  making these provisions permanent  would  increase the long-run size of
   the economy   by 1.4 percent, many lawmakers  may  worry about the potential
   increase in the federal deficit from the reduced tax revenues and may look for
   offsetting sources of revenues.

  One  such option is a carbon tax. Introducing a carbon tax in 2021 at a rate
   of $60 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, growing at 5 percent
   annually, would raise sufficient federal tax revenues to cover the cost of
   making  the individual provisions permanent. A carbon tax would reduce long-
   run economic  growth  by 0.4 percent.

  In addition to being revenue-neutral, combining these policies would increase
   the long-run size of the economy by 1 percent, making it a sustainable pro-
   growth  option.

  However,  this trade would put a disproportionate burden on lower-income
   taxpayers. Expanding  refundable tax credits or providing carbon dividends
   could address this distributional concern.


1  The author would like to thank Kyle Pomerleau for his comments and invaluable modeling contributions to this report.


Key   Findings

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most