Illustration of various people in different settings, labeled with the names Laura, David, and Mia. The scene suggests interaction and family engagement. The image source mentions a tax system supporting families.

The image is an infographic from Urban Institute highlighting issues faced by families with mixed immigration statuses. The text mentions eligibility and access barriers to claiming tax benefits. The background features illustrations of people in shades of blue.

Family Tax Credits—A story based on real experiences and written by @taxpolicycenter.bsky.social experts explores how mixed-status immigrant #families face barriers to claiming #tax benefits they have earned—and ways it can be addressed. Learn more. https://urbn.is/4ccXiTp

The image features illustrated family members outside a house, and people inside near a window. A person is seen blowing a whistle outside a basketball court. Text reads: "Meet family members Miranda, Joseph, Julian, and Alicia." Source: "How the Tax System Can Better Support All Families."

A stylized illustration shows diverse people with children in various activities. A prominent text reads, "As with their family, Primary caregivers who aren't parents or close relatives are ineligible to claim benefits for children in their care." The bottom notes the source: "How the tax system can better support all families."

A story based on real experiences and written by @taxpolicycenter.bsky.social explores why some #caregivers are ineligible to claim benefits for #children in their household—and steps Congress could take to help address this challenge.

Learn more. https://urbn.is/4c7UiI0

The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.

The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.

https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3

We Don’t Know How Many People File Their Taxes For Free. Congress Could Fix That Better data would give policymakers the tools they need to evaluate tradeoffs and design tax filing options that are fairer, cheaper, and easier for all taxpayers.

Really useful article from Margot Crandall-Hollick and Aravind Boddupalli on what we know and don't know about how much Americans pay to file their income taxes:

taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/we-do...

Illustration of diverse people engaged in various activities: a family of three, a young person with an adult walking, a young person playing soccer, and a young person playing piano while their caregiver watches.

Complex tax rules keep many #families from getting vital #tax benefits. New @taxpolicycenter.bsky.social #research highlights five fictional stories showing barriers—and evidence-backed solutions that Congress, the IRS, and others could pursue to help. https://urbn.is/3NP1miE

Check it out this new feature from @taxpolicycenter.bsky.social
and @urbaninstitute.bsky.social on how the tax system can better support all families. Such an impactful way to illustrate how tax policy actually plays out for families, and what could make it work better!

Increasing Fines Or Fees Is Unlikely To Save State And Local Budgets As state and local governments face growing fiscal uncertainty and shifts in federal policies, they may seek more revenue from fines and fees in the criminal legal system. But this strategy may do mor...

As state and local governments face growing fiscal uncertainty, they may seek more revenue from fines and fees in the criminal legal system. But this strategy may do more harm than good. tpc.io/47owsVT

The IRS faces unprecedented leadership turnover | Brookings Vanessa Williamson warns IRS turmoil, mass firings, and leadership losses threaten core taxpayer services nationwide.

Even more senior civil servants pushed out at IRS: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

More than two-thirds of IRS senior leadership has left or been removed since January. Unprecedented and dangerous.

Senate Reconciliation Bill, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Released June 28, 2025 The impact on the distribution of federal tax burden from the tax provisions in the Senate Reconciliation Bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), released June 28, 2025. Distributional impact, a...

More information here: taxpolicycenter.org/tax-model-an...

In the Tax Bill that US Senators are considering: Taxpayer A making $19,000 a year would get a tax cut of $70 (a month's internet plan). Taxpayer B making $1.1 million a year would get a tax cut of $66,290 (a year's vacation home payments), 3x Taxpayer A's year-long earnings.

Figure 4 shows Many Adults in Immigrant Families with Children Were Worried About Visiting Health Care Settings Because of Immigration Concerns. A blue bar graph shows 19% for All immigrant families with children, 13% for All-citizen immigrant families with children, 14% for Green card and citizen families with children, and 38%***/^^^ for Mixed-status families with children. The Source is the Well-Being & Basic Needs Survey, December 2024. Figure shows the share of adults ages 18-64 in immigrant families w/ children who reported they are worried "a lot" or "some" about visiting a doctor's office, health clinic, or hospital because of not wanting to draw attention to immigration status of someone in the family, overall and by family citizenship and immigration status. */**/*** Estimate differs significantly from adults in all-citizen immigrant families with children at the 0.10/0.05/0.01 level, using 2-tailed tests. ^/^^/^^^ from adults in green card and citizen families with children.

Thread: A new Urban Institute analysis demonstrates the widespread prevalence of challenges faced by #immigrant #families with #children, particularly in meeting basic housing, food, and health needs and worries about immigration policies. urbn.is/4mzT0bw

“One Big Beautiful Bill” Child Tax Credit Would Exclude Millions of American Children

"As the US Senate considers the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they could consider modifications to the Child Tax Credit changes that the US House of Representatives passed, so that American children are not left out of one of the nation’s most critical programs."

taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/one-b...

How Policymakers Could Use the Tax Code to Better Serve Children Some members of Congress are considering cuts to social safety net programs that serve children. To fill the potential gap in supports, policymakers could consider expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC)...

New from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social : The CTC and EITC are proven investments in children’s health and well-being. How can policymakers use the Tax Code to better serve children and our nation’s future?

taxpolicycenter.org/briefs/how-p...

Congestion pricing has improved life in New York City by: reducing cars on the street, speeding traffic (especially at peak hours), speeding buses and making them more reliable, expanding transit ridership, reducing car crashes, reducing noise complaints, and increasing the number of visitors.

Fire response times fell in the NYC congestion zone, even as they increased in the rest of the city.

Car crashes with injuries fell citywide, but they fell especially dramatically in the congestion pricing zone from 2024 to 2025

Local buses have sped up dramatically in the congestion pricing zone.

NYC’s congestion pricing is a policy miracle: Less traffic, less noise, faster transit, more business sales, more transit revenue. And it hasn’t produced the negative effects outside the cordon zone we were afraid of.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Congress Could Improve Tax Filing by Making the IRS Direct File Program Permanent The Trump Administration reportedly intends to end the IRS Direct File program, the optional and free tax filing service. This move would be unfortunate given longstanding, bipartisan concerns about t...

Congress—which is responsible for creating our labyrinthine tax code in the first place—could consider legislating a free and optional tax filing service like Direct File to help all families navigate the tax system.

taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/congr...

The New ICE-IRS Data Sharing Agreement Has Three Problems Although the MOU’s goal may be to facilitate the removal of individuals who are in the US without proper authorization, it may have downstream consequences for the fiscal health of the country, effect...

The new IRS-ICE data sharing agreement may have downstream consequences for tax revenues, robust government data practices, and the health of our wider communities.

taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/new-i...

Most Americans Are Interested in Using IRS Direct File to Prepare and File Their Taxes This factsheet uses December 2024 data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) to examine interest in using Direct File.

Our research shows most Americans are interested in using IRS Direct File to file their taxes. Interest spans across income, race, age, education, region, those who recently filed for free or paid.

But news reports say the Administration plans to eliminate it.

taxpolicycenter.org/briefs/most-...

AP is reporting that the Trump Administration is eliminating Direct File, IRS's excellent free tax prep program.

Last month I wrote about the success of the Direct File pilot, and what the history of IRS can tell us about resisting attacks on American governance.

www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

Most Americans Are Interested in Using IRS Direct File to Prepare and File Their Taxes This factsheet uses December 2024 data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) to examine interest in using Direct File.

This #tax season, explore new findings from Urban’s Tax #Policy Center (TPC) that examine interest in using Direct File and what motivates respondents to choose their most recent tax filing methods to better understand their priorities when preparing and filing their #taxes.

Most Americans Are Interested in Using IRS Direct File to Prepare and File Their Taxes This factsheet uses December 2024 data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) to examine interest in using Direct File.

📜 💲 New @urbaninstitute.bsky.social research shows nearly three-quarters of US taxpayers interested in using IRS Direct File if they have access to it. Interest is high across income, race, age, and education groups.

taxpolicycenter.org/briefs/most-...

My God: they are selling off federal buildings and no longer planning on collecting revenues.
Again, none of this is about efficiency. I know the IRS is not popular, but for every dollar invested it generates about $7 in returns. The goal is not to save money but to stop collecting it.

Five Facts About Fines and Fees Revenues The latest data from the US Census Bureau can help policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders understand where fines and fees fit in current revenues and design more effective and equitable polic...

Criminal legal fines and fees harm the families of those who can't pay and disproportionately affect people of color. But as my colleague @aravindb.bsky.social writes, they account for a tiny proportion of state and local revenues, calling into question why they continue to be levied.

Understanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Overview and Issues Ahead This presentation provides an overview of TCJA's major changes, their effects on the economy, and their impacts on families with children, pass-through businesses, multinational firms, and others.

The "Super Bowl of Tax" is looming with many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) expiring soon. This presentation summarizes TCJA's major changes, their economic effects, and their impacts on families with children, businesses, and more.

taxpolicycenter.org/presentation...

How Do Fines and Fees Affect Families’ Well-Being? Households facing court-related fines and fees were significantly more likely to report experiencing food insecurity or having trouble paying their medical bills.

🚨🚨 In new research from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, we used national survey data to look at fines and fees (tickets, court admin. fees, incarceration costs), finding that they can increase financial strains and economic disparities, undermining family well-being 🏛 🚔

www.urban.org/urban-wire/h...

Four Ways to Reduce Racial Inequities in the Federal Income Tax System To advance racial equity, policymakers should consider how income tax policies and practices can exacerbate racial disparities in wealth and income.

How can federal taxes better support the economic prosperity of all US families?

www.urban.org/urban-wire/f...

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One of the perks of working at Urban is the wide range of policy issues my colleagues care about - a complex web of topics that influence equity and well-being across communities. Follow along

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