Study by the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute

Desperately Seeking Revenue 

by Rosanne Altshuler, Katherine Lim and Roberton Williams 




This paper poses a simple question: could incremental reforms of the current tax 
system raise enough revenue to reduce the deficit to an average of 2 percent of GDP over the last five years of the budget window? We use the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Tax Model to simulate several revenue-raising tax changes, including raising all income tax rates 
proportionally, hiking taxes only for high-income taxpayers, and either limiting or eliminating 
itemized deductions to broaden the tax base. We conclude that politically feasible tax increases 
within the current tax structure cannot generate sufficient revenues to bring federal budget 
deficits under control.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/412018_seeking_revenue.pdf