Number: RL33641
Title: Tax Expenditures: Trends and Critiques
Authors: Thomas L. Hungerford, Government and Finance Division 
Abstract: Special deductions, exclusions, and exemptions (sometimes characterized as "loopholes") have always been in the tax code. In the mid-1960s, the Department of the Treasury became interested in tracking and accounting for these tax subsidies. Indeed, the term "tax expenditures" was first used at this time. Both the Department of the Treasury and the Joint Committee on Taxation prepare annual lists and estimates of tax expenditures, and Treasury's list is included in the President's annual budget submission. For FY2007, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that tax expenditures will amount to $1,034 billion - over six times the FY2007 federal budget deficit. Despite their widespread use, several concerns about tax expenditures have been voiced over the past 30 years.
Pages: 24
Date: Updated February 4, 2008