Author Description

The past two decades have witnessed 15 major federal tax bills, the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history, and major demographic labor-market shifts. This study examines in detail the effective Fed. tax rates faced by households in different parts of the income distribution from 1979 through 1997. Considers the 4 largest sources of federal revenues: individual income taxes, social insurance taxes, corporate income taxes, and excise taxes. It does not examine other federal taxes or state and local taxes. The analysis uses specific assumptions about the incidence of each tax -- who actually bears its cost, which may differ from who nominally pays the tax to the government. Tables.