[Analytical Perspectives]
[Federal Receipts and Collections]
[5. Tax Expenditures]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



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                           5. TAX EXPENDITURES

  Tax expenditures are revenue losses due to preferential provisions of 
the Federal tax laws, such as special exclusions, exemptions, 
deductions, credits, deferrals, or tax rates. They are alternatives to 
other policy instruments, such as spending or regulatory programs, as 
means of achieving Federal policy goals. Tax expenditures are created 
for a variety of reasons, including to encourage certain activities, to 
improve fairness, to ease compliance with and administration of the tax 
system, and to reduce certain tax-induced distortions. The Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344) requires that a list of tax 
expenditures be included in the budget.
  The largest tax expenditures tend to be associated with the individual 
income tax. For example, tax preferences are provided for pension 
contributions and earnings, employer contributions for medical 
insurance, mortgage interest payments on owner-occupied homes, capital 
gains, and payments of State and local individual income and property 
taxes. Tax expenditures under the corporate income tax tend to be 
related to the rate of cost recovery for various investments; as is 
discussed below, the extent to which these provisions are classified as 
tax expenditures varies according to the conceptual baseline used. 
Charitable contributions and credits for State taxes on bequests are the 
largest tax expenditures under the unified transfer (i.e., estate and 
gift) tax.
  Because of potential interactions among provisions, this chapter does 
not present a grand total revenue loss estimate for tax expenditures. 
Moreover, past tax changes entailing broad elimination of tax 
expenditures were generally accompanied by changes in tax rates or other 
basic provisions, so that the net effects on Federal revenues were 
considerably (if not totally) offset. Nevertheless, in aggregate, tax 
expenditures have revenue impacts of hundreds of billions of dollars, 
and are some of the most important ways in which the Federal Government 
affects economic decisions and social welfare.
  Tax expenditures relating to the individual and corporate income taxes 
are considered first in this chapter. They are estimated for fiscal 
years 1998-2004 using three methods of accounting: revenue loss, outlay 
equivalent, and present value. The present value approach provides 
estimates of the revenue losses for tax expenditures that involve 
deferrals of tax payments into the future or have similar long-term 
effects. Tax expenditures relating to the unified transfer tax are 
considered in a section at the end of the chapter.
  The section in this chapter on Performance Measures and the Economic 
Effects of Tax Expenditures presents information related to assessment 
of the effect of tax expenditures on the achievement of program 
performance goals. This section was prepared under the Government 
Performance and Results Act of 1993 and is included by reference in the 
government-wide performance plan required by this Act (see also Sections 
III, IV, and VI of the Budget volume). Tax expenditures are also 
discussed in Section VI of the Budget, which considers the Federal 
Government's spending, regulatory, and tax policies across functional 
areas.

                   TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX

                        Tax Expenditure Estimates

  The Treasury Department prepared all tax expenditure estimates 
presented here based upon tax law enacted as of December 31, 1998. The 
analysis includes new tax expenditures that were enacted in the Tax and 
Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998. Expired or repealed provisions are 
not listed if their revenue effects result only from taxpayer activity 
occurring before fiscal year 1998. Due to the time required to estimate 
the large number of tax expenditures, the estimates are based on mid-
session economic assumptions; exceptions are the earned income tax 
credit and child credit provisions, which involve outlay components and 
hence are updated to reflect the economic assumptions used elsewhere in 
the budget.
  The total revenue loss estimates for tax expenditures for fiscal years 
1998-2004 are displayed by the budget's functional categories in table 
5-1. Descriptions of the specific tax expenditure provisions follow the 
tables of estimates and discussion of general features of the tax 
expenditure concept.
  As in prior years, two baseline concepts--the normal tax baseline and 
the reference tax law baseline--are used to identify tax expenditures. 
For the most part, the two concepts coincide. However, items treated as 
tax expenditures under the normal tax baseline, but not the reference 
tax law baseline, are indicated by the designation ``normal tax method'' 
in the tables. The revenue losses for these items are zero using the 
reference tax rules. The alternative baseline concepts are discussed in 
detail following the estimates.
  Table 5-2 reports the respective portions of the total revenue losses 
that arise under the individual and corporate income taxes. Listing 
revenue loss estimates under the individual and corporate headings does 
not imply that these categories of filers benefit from the special tax 
provisions in proportion to the respective tax expenditure amounts 
shown. Rather, these break

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downs show the specific tax accounts through which the various 
provisions are cleared. The ultimate beneficiaries of corporate tax 
expenditures could be stockholders, employees, customers, or others, 
depending on economic forces.
  Table 5-3 ranks the major tax expenditures by fiscal year 2000 revenue 
loss. This table merges several individual entries provided in table 5-
1; for example, table 5-3 contains one merged entry for charitable 
contributions instead of the three separate entries found in table 5-1.

                 Interpreting Tax Expenditure Estimates

  Tax expenditure revenue loss estimates do not necessarily equal the 
increase in Federal revenues (or the change in the budget balance) that 
would result from repealing the special provisions, for the following 
reasons:
    Eliminating a tax expenditure may have incentive effects 
          that alter economic behavior. These incentives can affect the 
          resulting magnitudes of the formerly subsidized activity or of 
          other tax preferences or Government programs. For example, if 
          deductibility of mortgage interest were limited, some 
          taxpayers would hold smaller mortgages, with a concomitantly 
          smaller effect on the budget than if no such limits were in 
          force.
    Tax expenditures are interdependent even without incentive 
          effects. Repeal of a tax expenditure provision can increase or 
          decrease the revenue losses associated with other provisions. 
          For example, even if behavior does not change, repeal of an 
          itemized deduction could increase the revenue losses from 
          other deductions because some taxpayers would be moved into 
          higher tax brackets. Alternatively, repeal of an itemized 
          deduction could lower the revenue loss from other deductions 
          if taxpayers are led to claim the standard deduction instead 
          of itemizing. Similarly, if two provisions were repealed 
          simultaneously, the increase in tax liability could be greater 
          or less than the sum of the two separate tax expenditures, 
          since each is estimated assuming that the other remains in 
          force. In addition, the estimates reported in Table 5-1 are 
          the totals of individual and corporate income tax revenue 
          losses reported in Table 5-2 and do not reflect any possible 
          interactions between the individual and corporate income tax 
          receipts. For this reason, the figures in Table 5-1 (as well 
          as those in Table 5-5, which are also based on summing 
          individual and corporate estimates) should be regarded as 
          approximations.
    Revenues raised by changes to tax expenditures are sensitive 
          to timing effects and effective dates. Changes in some 
          provisions would yield their full potential revenue gains 
          relatively quickly, whereas changes to other provisions would 
          only gradually yield their full revenue potential, as certain 
          deductions or exemptions would likely be grandfathered.
    The annual value of tax expenditures for tax deferrals is 
          reported on a cash basis in all tables except Table 5-4. Cash-
          based estimates reflect the difference between taxes deferred 
          in the current year and incoming revenues that are received 
          due to deferrals of taxes from prior years. While such 
          estimates are useful as a measure of cash flows into the 
          Government, they do not accurately reflect the true economic 
          cost of these provisions. For example, for a provision where 
          activity levels have changed, so that incoming tax receipts 
          from past deferrals are greater than deferred receipts from 
          new activity, the cash-basis tax expenditure estimate can be 
          negative, despite the fact that in present-value terms current 
          deferrals do have a real cost to the Government. 
          Alternatively, in the case of a newly enacted deferral 
          provision, a cash-based estimate can overstate the real cost 
          to the Government because the newly deferred taxes will 
          ultimately be received. Present-value estimates, which are a 
          useful supplement to the cash-basis estimates for provisions 
          involving deferrals, are discussed below.
    Repeal of some provisions could affect overall levels of 
          income and rates of economic growth. In principle, repeal of 
          major tax provisions may have some impact on the budget 
          economic assumptions. In general, however, most changes in 
          particular provisions are unlikely to have significant 
          macroeconomic effects.

                         Present-Value Estimates

  Discounted present-value estimates of revenue losses are presented in 
Table 5-4 for certain provisions that involve tax deferrals or other 
long-term revenue effects. These estimates complement the cash-based tax 
expenditure estimates presented in the other tables.
  The present-value estimates represent the revenue losses, net of 
future tax payments, that follow from activities undertaken during 
calendar year 1999 which cause the deferrals or other long-term revenue 
effects. For instance, a pension contribution in 1999 would cause a 
deferral of tax payments on wages in 1999 and on pension earnings on 
this contribution (e.g., interest) in later years. In some future year, 
however, the 1999 pension contribution and accrued earnings will be paid 
out and taxes will be due; these receipts are included in the present-
value estimate. In general, this conceptual approach is similar to the 
one used for reporting the budgetary effects of credit programs, where 
direct loans and guarantees in a given year affect future cash flows.

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                                     Table 5-1.  TOTAL REVENUE LOSS ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Total revenue loss from corporate and individual Income taxes
                                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           1998      1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004    2000-2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  .........  National Defense:
1..........    Exclusion of benefits and allowances to armed forces
                personnel..............................................     2,095     2,120     2,140     2,160     2,180     2,200     2,220     10,900
 
  .........  International affairs:
2..........     Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens.....     1,990     2,235     2,500     2,800     3,125     3,460     3,830     15,715
3..........     Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations......     2,150     2,250     2,400     2,550     2,700     2,900     3,100     13,650
4..........    Inventory property sales source rules exception.........     1,000     1,050     1,100     1,150     1,250     1,350     1,450      6,300
 5.........    Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations
                (normal tax method)....................................     5,500     5,800     6,200     6,600     7,000     7,450     7,900     35,150
 6.........    Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income
                earned overseas........................................       400     1,075        65         0         0         0         0         65
 
  .........  General science, space, and technology:
7..........    Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures
                (normal tax method)....................................       260       330       510       610       675       735       765      3,295
8..........     Credit for increasing research activities..............     2,125     1,655       980       425       180        60         0      1,645
 
  .........  Energy:
9..........    Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels...      -110       -70       -10       -15         0        30        40         45
10.........    Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels.........       250       260       265       270       275       280       290      1,380
11.........     Alternative fuel production credit.....................       860       810       760       720       675       435       125      2,715
12.........     Exception from passive loss limitation for working
                interests in oil and gas properties....................        30        35        35        35        40        40        40        190
13.........     Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal...........        60        65        65        70        70        75        80        360
14.........     Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds.........       110       110       110       115       115       115       115        570
15.........     Enhanced oil recovery credit...........................       140       160       180       210       240       275       320      1,225
16.........     New technology credit..................................        25        30        35        40        40        35        35        185
17.........     Alcohol fuel credits \1\...............................        15        15        15        15        15        15        15         75
18.........    Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles        75        80        90        95        90        75        60        410
19.........    Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided
                by public utilities....................................        80        80        80        75        75        75        80        385
 
  .........  Natural resources and environment:
20.........    Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel
                minerals...............................................        25        25        25        25        25        30        30        135
21.........     Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel
                minerals...............................................       225       240       245       255       270       280       295      1,345
22.........     Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and
                hazardous waste facilities.............................       440       440       445       455       455       460       465      2,280
23.........     Capital gains treatment of certain timber income.......        60        65        65        70        70        75        80        360
24.........     Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs..........       485       500       510       530       550       570       590      2,750
25.........     Investment credit and seven-year amortization for
                reforestation expenditures.............................        10        10        10        10        15        15        15         65
26.........     Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures.       215       235       255       275       285       305       315      1,435
 
  .........  Agriculture:
27.........    Expensing of certain capital outlays....................        65        70        70        75        75        80        85        385
28.........     Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs......        80        85        85        90        95       100       105        475
29.........     Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers........        10        10        10        10        10        10        10         50
30.........     Capital gains treatment of certain income..............       605       630       655       685       715       750       785      3,590
31.........     Income averaging for farmers...........................        10        75        75        80        80        80        85        400
32.........     Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners..............        10        10        10        10        10        15        15         60
 
  .........  Commerce and housing:
  .........    Financial institutions and insurance:
33.........     Exemption of credit union income.......................       785       840       905       970     1,040     1,120     1,200      5,235
34.........     Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions.....        70        30        10         5         5         5         0         25
35.........     Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings........    13,465    14,200    14,990    15,810    16,680    17,595    18,840     83,915
36.........     Special alternative tax on small property and casualty
                 insurance companies...................................         5         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
37.........     Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by
                 tax-exempt organizations..............................       210       225       240       260       275       310       325      1,410
38.........     Small life insurance company deduction.................       100       100       100       105       105       110       100        520
  .........    Housing:
39.........     Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage
                 subsidy bonds.........................................       860       875       880       885       900       905       915      4,485
40.........     Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds..........       150       150       150       150       155       155       155        765
41.........     Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied
                 homes.................................................    51,700    52,990    55,100    57,590    60,415    63,425    66,615    303,145
42.........     Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-
                 occupied homes........................................    17,770    18,595    19,495    20,535    21,625    22,635    23,645    107,935
43.........     Deferral of income from post-1987 installment sales....       975       995     1,015     1,035     1,055     1,075     1,095      5,275
44.........     Capital gains exclusion on home sales..................    17,475    18,000    18,540    19,095    19,670    20,260    20,870     98,435
45.........     Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental
                 loss..................................................     4,735     4,455     4,215     4,000     3,785     3,575     3,375     18,950
46.........     Credit for low-income housing investments..............     3,120     3,225     3,335     3,485     3,540     3,620     3,615     17,595
47.........     Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     2,405     2,740     3,095     4,170     4,590     4,495     4,570     20,920
  .........    Commerce:
48.........     Cancellation of indebtedness...........................        50        30        20        15        20        20        25        100
49.........     Exceptions from imputed interest rules.................       155       160       160       160       165       165       165        815
50.........     Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore,
                 and coal) (normal tax method).........................    38,275    39,415    40,585    41,795    43,035    44,310    45,625    215,350
51.........     Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock.....         0         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
52.........     Step-up basis of capital gains at death................    24,570    25,800    27,090    28,240    29,370    30,545    31,765    147,010
53.........     Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts..............       170       175       185       195       205       210       220      1,015
54.........     Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business
                 corporation stock sale................................        35        35        35        40        40        40        40        195
55.........     Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental
                 housing (normal tax method)...........................     6,270     4,895     3,430     2,385     2,365     1,875       585     10,640

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56.........     Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment
                 (normal tax method)...................................    28,885    32,505    35,465    36,830    36,985    36,510    35,855    181,645
57.........     Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     1,185     1,235     1,275     1,175     1,730     1,605       995      6,780
58.........     Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method).....       205       215       220       225       225       230       240      1,140
59.........     Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     5,400     5,360     5,360     5,620     6,120     6,680     7,120     30,900
60.........     Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds.............       295       300       305       305       305       310       310      1,535
 
  .........  Transportation:
61.........     Deferral of tax on shipping companies..................        15        15        15        15        15        15        15         75
62.........     Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses......     1,560     1,595     1,630     1,690     1,750     1,815     1,885      8,770
63.........     Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes.........        70        80        95       105       130       155       170        655
 
  .........  Community and regional development:
64.........     Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures
                (other than historic)..................................        30        30        30        30        30        30        30        150
65.........     Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar
                bonds..................................................       695       705       710       715       725       730       740      3,620
66.........     Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income.        45        50        50        50        50        50        55        255
67.........     Empowerment zones and enterprise communities...........       290       380       430       435       415       305       290      1,875
68.........     Expensing of environmental remediation costs...........        90       110       145        60       -10       -25       -35        135
 
  .........  Education, training, employment, and social services:
  .........    Education:
69.........      Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal
                 tax method)...........................................       910       955       995     1,040     1,085     1,135     1,185      5,440
70.........      HOPE tax credit.......................................       200     4,015     4,855     5,325     5,730     5,765     5,950     27,625
71.........      Lifetime Learning tax credit..........................       110     2,510     2,655     2,970     3,015     3,355     4,565     16,560
72.........      Education Individual Retirement Accounts..............        20       100       230       380       540       710       885      2,745
73.........      Deductibility of student-loan interest................        70       245       265       315       360       385       425      1,750
74.........      Deferral for State prepaid tuition plans..............        85       125       180       235       285       330       365      1,395
75.........      Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds...........       235       235       240       245       245       250       250      1,230
76.........      Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit
                 educational facilities................................       560       570       570       575       580       590       595      2,910
77.........      Credit for holders of zone academy bonds..............         0        10        20        30        35        35        35        155
78.........      Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to
                 finance educational expenses..........................        10        10        15        15        15        15        20         80
79.........      Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or
                 over..................................................       875       915       965     1,015     1,055     1,105     1,155      5,295
80.........      Child credit \2\......................................     3,525    18,740    18,725    18,430    18,160    17,745    17,155     90,215
81.........      Deductibility of charitable contributions (education).     2,880     2,940     3,065     3,195     3,350     3,505     3,680     16,795
82.........      Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance.       215       215       210        15         0         0         0        225
  .........    Training, employment, and social services:
83.........      Work opportunity tax credit...........................       170       335       330       160        40         5         0        535
84.........      Welfare-to-work tax credit............................        15        35        35        20        10         5         0         70
85.........      Exclusion of employer-provided child care.............     1,325     1,385     1,445     1,510     1,575     1,645     1,715      7,890
86.........      Adoption assistance...................................       125       295       345       390       385       235       170      1,525
87.........      Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than
                 military).............................................       620       650       680       710       740       775       810      3,715
88.........      Credit for child and dependent care expenses..........     2,485     2,455     2,425     2,395     2,365     2,340     2,310     11,835
89.........      Credit for disabled access expenditures...............        45        50        50        50        55        60        60        275
90.........      Expensing of costs of removing certain architectural
                 barriers to the handicapped...........................         0         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
91.........      Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than
                 education and health..................................    18,580    19,150    20,055    21,005    22,050    23,150    24,335    110,595
92.........      Exclusion of certain foster care payments.............        35        35        40        40        45        45        50        220
93.........      Exclusion of parsonage allowances.....................       315       340       360       385       410       440       470      2,065
 
  .........  Health:
94.........    Exclusion of employer contributions for medical
                insurance premiums and medical care....................    67,920    72,535    77,670    83,095    88,830    94,960   101,520    446,075
95.........    Self-employed medical insurance premiums................       765       980     1,310     1,405     1,550     2,055     2,905      9,225
96.........    Workers' compensation insurance premiums................     4,260     4,420     4,585     4,755     4,935     5,120     5,315     24,710
97.........     Medical Savings Accounts...............................        15        20        25        25        20        20        15        105
98.........     Deductibility of medical expenses......................     3,615     3,775     3,985     4,215     4,475     4,750     5,035     22,460
99.........    Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds....     1,160     1,170     1,185     1,190     1,205     1,220     1,230      6,030
100........    Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)......     2,560     2,630     2,730     2,860     3,000     3,145     3,300     15,035
101........    Tax credit for orphan drug research.....................        40        50        55        60        70        80        90        355
02.........    Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction................       210       230       250       280       325       290       250      1,395
 
  .........  Income security:
103........     Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits.......       420       420       425       425       430       435       440      2,155
104........     Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits............     5,140     5,330     5,475     5,940     6,205     6,480     6,755     30,855
105........     Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax
                method)................................................       440       345       360       375       390       405       420      1,950
106........     Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners.        85        80        75        70        70        65        60        340
107........     Exclusion of military disability pensions..............       120       125       130       135       140       140       145        690
  .........    Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
108........      Employer plans........................................    82,215    82,195    84,350    86,670    89,155    91,810    94,455    446,440
109........      Individual Retirement Accounts........................    10,565    10,770    11,170    11,440    11,550    11,485    11,270     56,915
110........      Keogh plans...........................................     3,930     4,025     4,255     4,495     4,750     5,010     5,285     23,795
  .........    Exclusion of other employee benefits:
111........      Premiums on group term life insurance.................     2,030     2,075     2,120     2,170     2,220     2,270     2,335     11,115

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112........      Premiums on accident and disability insurance.........       175       185       195       205       215       225       235      1,075
113........     Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment
                benefits...............................................         5         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
114........     Special ESOP rules.....................................       920       950       980     1,020     1,060     1,100     1,140      5,300
115........    Additional deduction for the blind......................        30        30        30        30        35        35        35        165
116........    Additional deduction for the elderly....................     1,690     1,720     1,740     1,795     1,880     1,945     2,020      9,380
117........    Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.................        40        40        40        40        40        40        40        200
118........     Deductibility of casualty losses.......................       225       235       245       255       270       280       290      1,340
119........     Earned income tax credit \3\...........................     6,351     5,118     4,971     5,142     5,275     5,471     5,672     26,531
 
  .........  Social Security:
  .........    Exclusion of social security benefits:
120........     Social Security benefits for retired workers...........    16,780    17,210    18,125    19,045    20,100    21,260    22,460    100,990
121........      Social Security benefits for disabled.................     2,265     2,420     2,615     2,820     3,060     3,325     3,625     15,445
122........      Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors.     3,725     3,785     3,910     4,065     4,235     4,405     4,575     21,190
 
  .........  Veterans benefits and services:
123........     Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability
                compensation...........................................     2,820     2,940     3,070     3,210     3,350     3,495     3,650     16,775
124........     Exclusion of veterans pensions.........................        65        65        70        75        80        85        85        395
125........     Exclusion of GI bill benefits..........................        65        75        85        90        90        95       100        460
126........     Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds........        40        40        40        40        40        40        40        200
 
  .........  General purpose fiscal assistance:
127........     Exclusion of interest on public purpose bonds..........    20,050    20,250    20,450    20,660    20,865    21,075    21,285    104,335
128........     Deductibility of nonbusiness State and local taxes
                other than on owner-occupied homes.....................    32,795    34,925    37,000    39,235    41,715    44,490    47,400    209,840
129........     Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing
                business in U.S. possessions...........................     3,960     4,000     4,120     4,245     4,285     4,150     4,215     21,015
 
  .........  Interest:
130........    Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds..............       965     1,015     1,065     1,115     1,175     1,235     1,295      5,885
 
  .........  Addendum--Aid to State and local governments:
  .........    Deductibility of:
  .........     Property taxes on owner-occupied homes.................    17,770    18,595    19,495    20,535    21,625    22,635    23,645    107,935
  .........     Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-
                 occupied homes........................................    32,795    34,925    37,000    39,235    41,715    44,490    47,400    209,840
  .........    Exclusion of interest on:
  .........     Public purpose State and local debt....................    20,050    20,250    20,450    20,660    20,865    21,075    21,285    104,335
  .........     IDBs for certain energy facilities.....................       110       110       110       115       115       115       115        570
  .........     IDBs for pollution control and sewage and waste
                 disposal facilities...................................       440       440       445       455       455       460       465      2,280
  .........     Small-issue IDBs.......................................       295       300       305       305       305       310       310      1,535
  .........     Owner-occupied mortgage revenue bonds..................       860       875       880       885       900       905       915      4,485
  .........     State and local debt for rental housing................       150       150       150       150       155       155       155        765
  .........     IDBs for airports, docks, and sports and convention
                 facilities............................................       695       705       710       715       725       730       740      3,620
  .........     State and local student loan bonds.....................       235       235       240       245       245       250       250      1,230
  .........     State and local debt for private nonprofit educational
                 facilities............................................       560       570       570       575       580       590       595      2,910
  .........     State and local debt for private nonprofit health
                 facilities............................................     1,160     1,170     1,185     1,190     1,205     1,220     1,230      6,030
  .........     State and local debt for veterans housing..............        40        40        40        40        40        40        40        200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In addition, the partial exemption from the excise tax for alcohol fuels results in a reduction in excise tax receipts (in millions of dollars) as
  follows: 1998 $680; 1999 $725; 2000 $755; 2001 $765; 2002 $790; 2003 $805; and 2004 $830.
 
\2\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998
  $0; 1999 $415; 2000 $528; 2001 $496; 2002 $483; 2003 $453; and 2004 $425.
 
\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as
  follows: 1998 $23,239; 1999 $26,273; 2000 $26,882; 2001 $27,667; 2002 $28,632; 2003 $29,566; and 2004 $30,578.
 
Note: Provisions with estimates denoted ``normal tax method'' have no revenue loss under the reference tax law method.
All estimates have been rounded to the nearest $5 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not ed in the table.


[[Page 110]]


                                                                       Table 5-2.  CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX REVENUE LOSS ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES
                                                                                                        (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                          Revenue Loss
                                                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                     Corporations                                                              Individuals
                                                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                        2000-                                                                     2000-
                                                                                         1998     1999     2000     2001     2002     2003     2004     2004      1998     1999     2000     2001     2002     2003     2004      2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  .........  National Defense
1..........     Exclusion of benefits and allowances to armed forces personnel.......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,095    2,120    2,140    2,160    2,180    2,200     2,220    10,900
 
  .........  International affairs:
2..........     Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens...................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,990    2,235    2,500    2,800    3,125    3,460     3,830    15,715
 3.........     Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations....................    2,150    2,250    2,400    2,550    2,700    2,900    3,100    13,650  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 4.........     Inventory property sales source rules exception......................    1,000    1,050    1,100    1,150    1,250    1,350    1,450     6,300  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 5.........     Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal tax
                method)..............................................................    5,500    5,800    6,200    6,600    7,000    7,450    7,900    35,150  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 6.........     Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income earned overseas.      400    1,075       65        0        0        0        0        65  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 
  .........  General science, space, and technology:
 7.........    Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax
                method)..............................................................      255      325      500      600      665      720      750     3,235        5        5       10       10       10       15        15        60
 8.........     Credit for increasing research activities............................    2,095    1,625      965      425      180       60        0     1,630       30       30       15        0        0        0         0        15
 
  .........  Energy:
 9.........    Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels.................      -90      -55      -10      -15        0       25       30        30      -20      -15        0        0        0        5        10        15
 10........     Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels......................      200      205      210      215      220      225      235     1,105       50       55       55       55       55       55        55       275
 11........     Alternative fuel production credit...................................      815      765      720      680      640      420      120     2,580       45       45       40       40       35       15         5       135
 12........     Exception from passive loss limitation for working interests in oil
                and gas properties...................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       30       35       35       35       40       40        40       190
 13........     Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       60       65       65       70       70       75        80       360
 14........     Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds.......................       30       30       30       30       30       30       30       150       80       80       80       85       85       85        85       420
 15........     Enhanced oil recovery credit.........................................      130      150      170      195      225      260      300     1,150       10       10       10       15       15       15        20        75
 16........     New technology credit................................................       25       30       35       40       40       35       35       185  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 17........    Alcohol fuel credits \1\..............................................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50        5        5        5        5        5        5         5        25
 18........    Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles..............       60       65       75       80       75       60       50       340       15       15       15       15       15       15        10        70
 19........    Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided by public
                utilities............................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       80       80       80       75       75       75        80       385
 
  .........  Natural resources and environment:
 20........     Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel minerals.....       20       20       20       20       20       25       25       110        5        5        5        5        5        5         5        25
 21........     Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel minerals...........      180      190      195      205      215      225      235     1,075       45       50       50       50       55       55        60       270
 22........     Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and hazardous waste
                facilities...........................................................      115      115      115      120      120      120      120       595      325      325      330      335      335      340       345     1,685
 23........     Capital gains treatment of certain timber income.....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       60       65       65       70       70       75        80       360
 24........     Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs........................      300      310      315      330      340      355      365     1,705      185      190      195      200      210      215       225     1,045
 25........     Investment credit and seven-year amortization for reforestation
                expenditures.........................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       10       10       10       15       15        15        65
 26........     Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures...............      175      195      210      225      235      250      260     1,180       40       40       45       50       50       55        55       255
 
  .........  Agriculture:
 27........     Expensing of certain capital outlays.................................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       55       60       60       65       65       70        75       335
 28........     Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs....................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       70       75       75       80       85       90        95       425
 29........     Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers......................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       10       10       10       10       10        10        50
 30........     Capital gains treatment of certain income............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      605      630      655      685      715      750       785     3,590
 31........     Income averaging for farmers.........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       75       75       80       80       80        85       400
 32........     Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners............................       10       10       10       10       10       15       15        60
 
  .........  Commerce and housing:
  .........    Financial institutions and insurance:
 33........     Exemption of credit union income.....................................      785      840      905      970    1,040    1,120    1,200     5,235  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 34........     Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions...................       70       30       10        5        5        5        0        25  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 35........     Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings......................      200      210      225      235      250      260      275     1,245   13,265   13,990   14,765   15,575   16,430   17,335    18,565    82,670
 36........     Special alternative tax on small property and casualty insurance
                 companies...........................................................        5        5        5        5        5        5        5        25  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 37........     Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by tax-exempt
                 organizations.......................................................      210      225      240      260      275      310      325     1,410  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........

[[Page 111]]

 
 38........     Small life insurance company deduction...............................      100      100      100      105      105      110      100       520  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 
  .........    Housing:
 39........     Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage subsidy bonds.......      225      230      230      230      235      235      240     1,170      635      645      650      655      665      670       675     3,315
 40........     Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds........................       40       40       40       40       40       40       40       200      110      110      110      110      115      115       115       565
 41........     Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied homes...........  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   51,700   52,990   55,100   57,590   60,415   63,425    66,615   303,145
 42........     Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-occupied homes  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   17,770   18,595   19,495   20,535   21,625   22,635    23,645   107,935
 43........     Deferral of income from post-1987 installment sales..................      255      260      265      270      275      280      285     1,375      720      735      750      765      780      795       810     3,900
 44........     Capital gains exclusion on home sales................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   17,475   18,000   18,540   19,095   19,670   20,260    20,870    98,435
 45........     Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental loss.........  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,735    4,455    4,215    4,000    3,785    3,575     3,375    18,950
 46........     Credit for low-income housing investments............................    2,340    2,420    2,500    2,615    2,655    2,715    2,710    13,195      780      805      835      870      885      905       905     4,400
 47........     Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax method).......    1,650    1,880    2,125    2,845    3,135    3,090    3,155    14,350      755      860      970    1,325    1,455    1,405     1,415     6,570
 
  .........    Commerce:
 48........     Cancellation of indebtedness.........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       50       30       20       15       20       20        25       100
 49........     Exceptions from imputed interest rules...............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      155      160      160      160      165      165       165       815
 50........     Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore, and coal)
                 (normal tax method).................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   38,275   39,415   40,585   41,795   43,035   44,310    45,625   215,350
 51........     Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock...................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........        0        5        5        5        5        5         5        25
 52........     Step-up basis of capital gains at death..............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   24,570   25,800   27,090   28,240   29,370   30,545    31,765   147,010
 53........     Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      170      175      185      195      205      210       220     1,015
 54........     Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business corporation
                 stock sale..........................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       35       35       35       40       40       40        40       195
 55........     Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing
                 (normal tax method).................................................    4,635    3,620    2,550    1,785    1,720    1,360      450     7,865    1,635    1,275      880      600      645      515       135     2,775
 56........     Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax
                 method).............................................................   22,025   24,645   26,800   27,835   28,050   27,790   27,380   137,855    6,860    7,860    8,665    8,995    8,935    8,720     8,475    43,790
 57........     Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method)...........      805      840      875      820    1,200    1,125      730     4,750      380      395      400      355      530      480       265     2,030
 58........     Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)...................      120      125      130      130      130      135      140       665       85       90       90       95       95       95       100       475
 59........     Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax method)............    5,400    5,360    5,360    5,620    6,120    6,680    7,120    30,900  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 60........     Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds...........................       75       80       80       80       80       80       80       400      220      220      225      225      225      230       230     1,135
 
  .........  Transportation:
 61........     Deferral of tax on shipping companies................................       15       15       15       15       15       15       15        75  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 62........     Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,560    1,595    1,630    1,690    1,750    1,815     1,885     8,770
 63........     Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes.......................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       70       80       95      105      130      155       170       655
 
  .........  Community and regional development:
 64........    Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures (other than
                historic)............................................................       15       15       15       15       15       15       15        75       15       15       15       15       15       15        15        75
 65........     Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar bonds...........      180      185      185      185      190      190      195       945      515      520      525      530      535      540       545     2,675
 66........     Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income...............       45       50       50       50       50       50       55       255  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 67........     Empowerment zones and enterprise communities.........................      135      185      205      190      170      130      115       810      155      195      225      245      245      175       175     1,065
 68........     Expensing of environmental remediation costs.........................       75       90      120       50      -10      -20      -30       110       15       20       25       10        0       -5        -5        25
 
  .........  Education, training, employment, and social services:
  .........    Education:
 69........     Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal tax method)...  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      910      955      995    1,040    1,085    1,135     1,185     5,440
 70........     HOPE tax credit......................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      200    4,015    4,855    5,325    5,730    5,765     5,950    27,625
 71........     Lifetime Learning tax credit.........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      110    2,510    2,655    2,970    3,015    3,355     4,565    16,560
 72........     Education Individual Retirement Accounts.............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       20      100      230      380      540      710       885     2,745
 73........     Deductibility of student-loan interest...............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       70      245      265      315      360      385       425     1,750
 74........     Deferral for State prepaid tuition plans.............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       85      125      180      235      285      330       365     1,395
 75........     Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds..........................       60       60       65       65       65       65       65       325      175      175      175      180      180      185       185       905
 76........     Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit educational
                 facilities..........................................................      145      150      150      150      150      155      155       760      415      420      420      425      430      435       440     2,150

[[Page 112]]

 
 77........     Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.............................        0       10       20       30       35       35       35       155
 78........     Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to finance
                 educational expenses................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       10       15       15       15       15        20        80
 79........     Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over..............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      875      915      965    1,015    1,055    1,105     1,155     5,295
 80........     Child credit \2\.....................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,525   18,740   18,725   18,430   18,160   17,745    17,155    90,215
 81........     Deductibility of charitable contributions (education)................      970      970      990    1,020    1,065    1,105    1,160     5,340    1,910    1,970    2,075    2,175    2,285    2,400     2,520    11,455
 82........     Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      215      215      210       15        0        0         0       225
 
  .........    Training, employment, and social services:
 83........     Work opportunity tax credit..........................................      145      285      280      135       35        5        0       455       25       50       50       25        5        0         0        80
                Welfare-to-work tax credit...........................................       15       30       30       15       10        5        0        60        0        5        5        5        0        0         0        10
 85........     Exclusion of employer-provided child care............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,325    1,385    1,445    1,510    1,575    1,645     1,715     7,890
 86........     Adoption assistance..................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      125      295      345      390      385      235       170     1,525
 87........     Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than military)........  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      620      650      680      710      740      775       810     3,715
 88........     Credit for child and dependent care expenses.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,485    2,455    2,425    2,395    2,365    2,340     2,310    11,835
 89........     Credit for disabled access expenditures..............................       15       15       15       15       15       20       20        85       30       35       35       35       40       40        40       190
 90........     Expensing of costs of removing certain architectural barriers to the
                 handicapped.........................................................        0        5        5        5        5        5        5        25
 91........     Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than education and
                 health..............................................................    1,190    1,190    1,215    1,255    1,310    1,360    1,425     6,565   17,390   17,960   18,840   19,750   20,740   21,790    22,910   104,030
 92........     Exclusion of certain foster care payments............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       35       35       40       40       45       45        50       220
 93........     Exclusion of parsonage allowances....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      315      340      360      385      410      440       470     2,065
 
  .........  Health:
 94........    Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and
                medical care.........................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   67,920   72,535   77,670   83,095   88,830   94,960   101,520   446,075
 95........    Self-employed medical insurance premiums..............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      765      980    1,310    1,405    1,550    2,055     2,905     9,225
 96........    Workers' compensation insurance premiums..............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,260    4,420    4,585    4,755    4,935    5,120     5,315    24,710
 97........    Medical Savings Accounts..............................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       15       20       25       25       20       20        15       105
 98........    Deductibility of medical expenses.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,615    3,775    3,985    4,215    4,475    4,750     5,035    22,460
 99........    Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds..................      305      305      310      310      315      320      320     1,575      855      865      875      880      890      900       910     4,455
100........    Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)....................      610      610      620      640      670      695      730     3,355    1,950    2,020    2,110    2,220    2,330    2,450     2,570    11,680
101........    Tax credit for orphan drug research...................................       40       50       55       60       70       80       90       355  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
102........    Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction..............................      210      230      250      280      325      290      250     1,395  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 
  .........  Income security:
103........    Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits......................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      420      420      425      425      430      435       440     2,155
104........    Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits...........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    5,140    5,330    5,475    5,940    6,205    6,480     6,755    30,855
105........     Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax method)..........  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      440      345      360      375      390      405       420     1,950
106........     Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners...............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       85       80       75       70       70       65        60       340
107........     Exclusion of military disability pensions............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      120      125      130      135      140      140       145       690
  .........    Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
108........     Employer plans.......................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   82,215   82,195   84,350   86,670   89,155   91,810    94,455   446,440
109........     Individual Retirement Accounts.......................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   10,565   10,770   11,170   11,440   11,550   11,485    11,270    56,915
110........     Keogh plans..........................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,930    4,025    4,255    4,495    4,750    5,010     5,285    23,795
  .........    Exclusion of other employee benefits:
111........     Premiums on group term life insurance................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,030    2,075    2,120    2,170    2,220    2,270     2,335    11,115
112........     Premiums on accident and disability insurance........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      175      185      195      205      215      225       235     1,075
113........     Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment benefits......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........        5        5        5        5        5        5         5        25
114........    Special ESOP rules....................................................      660      680      700      730      760      790      820     3,800      260      270      280      290      300      310       320     1,500
115........     Additional deduction for the blind...................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       30       30       30       30       35       35        35       165
116........     Additional deduction for the elderly.................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,690    1,720    1,740    1,795    1,880    1,945     2,020     9,380
117........     Tax credit for the elderly and disabled..............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       40       40       40       40       40       40        40       200
118........     Deductibility of casualty losses.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      225      235      245      255      270      280       290     1,340
119........     Earned income tax credit \3\.........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    6,351    5,118    4,971    5,142    5,275    5,471     5,672    26,531
 
  .........  Social Security:
  .........    Exclusion of social security benefits:
120........     Social Security benefits for retired workers.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   16,780   17,210   18,125   19,045   20,100   21,260    22,460   100,990
121........     Social Security benefits for disabled................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,265    2,420    2,615    2,820    3,060    3,325     3,625    15,445

[[Page 113]]

 
122........     Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,725    3,785    3,910    4,065    4,235    4,405     4,575    21,190
 
  .........  Veterans benefits and services:
123........    Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability compensation......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,820    2,940    3,070    3,210    3,350    3,495     3,650    16,775
124........     Exclusion of veterans pensions.......................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       65       65       70       75       80       85        85       395
125........     Exclusion of GI bill benefits........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       65       75       85       90       90       95       100       460
126........     Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds......................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       30       30       30       30       30       30        30       150
 
  .........  General purpose fiscal assistance:
127........    Exclusion of interest on public purpose bonds.........................    5,240    5,295    5,345    5,400    5,455    5,510    5,565    27,275   14,810   14,955   15,105   15,260   15,410   15,565    15,720    77,060
128........    Deductibility of nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-
                occupied homes.......................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   32,795   34,925   37,000   39,235   41,715   44,490    47,400   209,840
129........    Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing business in
                U.S. possessions.....................................................    3,960    4,000    4,120    4,245    4,285    4,150    4,215    21,015  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  ........
 
  .........  Interest:
130........    Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      965    1,015    1,065    1,115    1,175    1,235     1,295     5,885
 
  .........  Addendum--Aid to State and local governments:
  .........    Deductibility of:
                Property taxes on owner-occupied homes...............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   17,770   18,595   19,495   20,535   21,625   22,635    23,645   107,935
                Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-occupied homes.  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   32,795   34,925   37,000   39,235   41,715   44,490    47,400   209,840
 
  .........    Exclusion of interest on:
                Public purpose State and local debt..................................    5,240    5,295    5,345    5,400    5,455    5,510    5,565    27,275   14,810   14,955   15,105   15,260   15,410   15,565    15,720    77,060
                IDBs for certain energy facilities...................................       30       30       30       30       30       30       30       150       80       80       80       85       85       85        85       420
                IDBs for pollution control and sewage and waste disposal facilities..      115      115      115      120      120      120      120       595      325      325      330      335      335      340       345     1,685
                Small-issue IDBs.....................................................       75       80       80       80       80       80       80       400      220      220      225      225      225      230       230     1,135
                Owner-occupied mortgage revenue bonds................................      225      230      230      230      235      235      240     1,170      635      645      650      655      665      670       675     3,315
                State and local debt for rental housing..............................       40       40       40       40       40       40       40       200      110      110      110      110      115      115       115       565
                IDBs for airports, docks, and sports and convention facilities.......      180      185      185      185      190      190      195       945      515      520      525      530      535      540       545     2,675
                State and local student loan bonds...................................       60       60       65       65       65       65       65       325      175      175      175      180      180      185       185       905
                State and local debt for private nonprofit educational facilities....      145      150      150      150      150      155      155       760      415      420      420      425      430      435       440     2,150
                State and local debt for private nonprofit health facilities.........      305      305      310      310      315      320      320     1,575      855      865      875      880      890      900       910     4,455
                State and local debt for veterans housing............................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       30       30       30       30       30       30        30       150
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In addition, the partial exemption from the excise tax for alcohol fuels results in a reduction in excise tax receipts (in millions of dollars) as follows: 1998 $680; 1999 $725; 2000 $755; 2001 $765; 2002 $790; 2003 $805; and
  2004 $830.
 
\2\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998 $0; 1999 $415; 2000 $528; 2001 $496; 2002 $483; 2003 $453; and 2004 $425.
 
\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998 $23,239; 1999 $26,273; 2000 $26,882; 2001 $27,667; 2002 $28,632; 2003
  $29,566; and 2004 $30,578.
 
Note: Provisions with estimates denoted normal tax method have no revenue loss under the reference tax law method.
 
All estimates have been rounded to the nearest $5 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not included in the table.


[[Page 114]]


             Table 5-3.  MAJOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX, RANKED BY TOTAL 2000 REVENUE LOSS
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Provision                                         2000          2000-2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Employer plans.........      84,350          446,440
  Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and
   medical care...............................................................      77,670          446,075
  Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied homes..................      55,100          303,145
  Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore, and coal) (normal tax
   method)....................................................................      40,585          215,350
  Deductibility of nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-
   occupied homes.............................................................      37,000          209,840
  Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax method).....      35,465          181,645
  Step-up basis of capital gains at death.....................................      27,090          147,010
  Deductibility of charitable contributions, total............................      25,850          142,425
  Exclusion of interest on public purpose bonds...............................      20,450          104,335
  Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-occupied homes.......      19,495          107,935
  Child credit \2\............................................................      18,725           90,215
  Capital gains exclusion on home sales.......................................      18,540           98,435
  Exclusion of Social Security benefits for retired workers...................      18,125          100,990
  Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings.............................      14,990           83,915
  Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Individual Retirement
   Accounts...................................................................      11,170           56,915
  Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal tax method).       6,200           35,150
  Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits.................................       5,475           30,855
  Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax method)...................       5,360           30,900
  Earned income tax credit \3\................................................       4,971           26,531
  HOPE tax credit.............................................................       4,855           27,625
  Exclusion of interest on non-public purpose State and local debt............       4,635           23,625
  Workers' compensation insurance premiums....................................       4,585           24,710
  Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Keogh plans............       4,255           23,795
  Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental loss................       4,215           18,950
  Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing business in U.S.
   possessions................................................................       4,120           21,015
  Deductibility of medical expenses...........................................       3,985           22,460
  Exclusion of Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors..........       3,910           21,190
  Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing (normal tax
   method)....................................................................       3,430           10,640
  Credit for low-income housing investments...................................       3,335           17,595
  Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax method)..............       3,095           20,920
  Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability compensation............       3,070           16,775
  Lifetime Learning tax credit................................................       2,655           16,560
  Exclusion of Social Security benefits for disabled..........................       2,615           15,445
  Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens..........................       2,500           15,715
  Credit for child and dependent care expenses................................       2,425           11,835
  Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations...........................       2,400           13,650
  Exclusion of benefits and allowances to armed forces personnel..............       2,140           10,900
  Exclusion of other employee benefits: Premiums on group term life insurance.       2,120           11,115
  Additional deduction for the elderly........................................       1,740            9,380
  Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses...........................       1,630            8,770
  Exclusion of employer-provided child care...................................       1,445            7,890
  Self-employed medical insurance premiums....................................       1,310            9,225
  Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method)..................       1,275            6,780
  Inventory property sales source rules exception.............................       1,100            6,300
  Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds..................................       1,065            5,885
  Deferral of income from post-1987 installment sales.........................       1,015            5,275
  Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal tax method)..........         995            5,440
  Credit for increasing research activities...................................         980            1,645
  Special ESOP rules..........................................................         980            5,300
  Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over.....................         965            5,295
  Exemption of credit union income............................................         905            5,235
  Alternative fuel production credit..........................................         760            2,715
  Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than military)...............         680            3,715
  Capital gains treatment of certain income...................................         655            3,590
  Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax method)..         510            3,295
  Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs...............................         510            2,750
  Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels and nonfuel minerals........         510            2,725
  Empowerment zones and enterprise communities................................         430            1,875
  Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits............................         425            2,155
  Exclusion of parsonage allowances...........................................         360            2,065
  Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax method).................         360            1,950
  Adoption assistance.........................................................         345            1,525
  Work opportunity tax credit.................................................         330              535
  Deductibility of student-loan interest......................................         265            1,750
  Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures......................         255            1,435
  Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction....................................         250            1,395
  Deductibility of casualty losses............................................         245            1,340
  Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by tax-exempt
   organizations..............................................................         240            1,410
  Education Individual Retirement Accounts....................................         230            2,745

[[Page 115]]

 
  Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)..........................         220            1,140
  Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance.......................         210              225
  Exclusion of other employee benefits: Premiums on accident and disability
   insurance..................................................................         195            1,075
  Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts...................................         185            1,015
  Deferral for State prepaid tuition plans....................................         180            1,395
  Enhanced oil recovery credit................................................         180            1,225
  Exceptions from imputed interest rules......................................         160              815
  Expensing of environmental remediation costs................................         145              135
  Exclusion of military disability pensions...................................         130              690
  Small life insurance company deduction......................................         100              520
  Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes..............................          95              655
  Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles....................          90              410
  Exclusion of GI bill benefits...............................................          85              460
  Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs...........................          85              475
  Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided by public utilities          80              385
  Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners......................          75              340
  Income averaging for farmers................................................          75              400
  Exclusion of veterans pensions..............................................          70              395
  Expensing of certain capital outlays........................................          70              385
  Capital gains treatment of certain timber income............................          65              360
  Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income earned overseas........          65               65
  Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal................................          65              360
  Tax credit for orphan drug research.........................................          55              355
  Credit for disabled access expenditures.....................................          50              275
  Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income......................          50              255
  Exclusion of certain foster care payments...................................          40              220
  Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.....................................          40              200
  Exception from passive loss limitation for working interests in oil and gas
   properties.................................................................          35              190
  New technology credit.......................................................          35              185
  Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business corporation stock sale          35              195
  Welfare-to-work tax credit..................................................          35               70
  Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures (other than historic)....          30              150
  Additional deduction for the blind..........................................          30              165
  Medical Savings Accounts....................................................          25              105
  Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel minerals............          25              135
  Cancellation of indebtedness................................................          20              100
  Credit for holders of zone academy bonds....................................          20              155
  Deferral of tax on shipping companies.......................................          15               75
  Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to finance educational
   expenses...................................................................          15               80
  Alcohol fuel credits \1\....................................................          15               75
  Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers.............................          10               50
  Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions..........................          10               25
  Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners...................................          10               60
  Investment credit and seven-year amortization for reforestation expenditures          10               65
  Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock..........................           5               25
  Expensing of costs of removing certain architectural barriers to the
   handicapped................................................................           5               25
  Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment benefits.............           5               25
  Special alternative tax on small property and casualty insurance companies..           5               25
  Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels.......................        (10)               45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In addition, the partial exemption from the excise tax for alcohol fuels results in a reduction in excise
  tax receipts (in millions of dollars) as follows: 1998 $680; 1999 $725; 2000 $755; 2001 $765; 2002 $790; 2003
  $805; and 2004 $830
\2\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in
  millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998 $0; 1999 $415; 2000 $528; 2001 $496; 2002 $483; 2003 $453; and 2004
  $425.
 
\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect on
  outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998 $23,239; 1999 $26,273; 2000 $26,882; 2001 $27,667; 2002
  $28,632; 2003 $29,566; and 2004 $30,578.
 
Note: Provisions with estimates denoted ``normal tax method'' have no revenue loss under the reference tax law
  method. All estimates have been rounded to the nearest $5 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to
  zero in each year are not included in the able.
 
Note: Three categories in the table are aggregated: Deductibility of chartable contributions, exclusion of
  interest for non-public purpose State and local debt, and excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels and
  nonfuel minerals.


[[Page 116]]


            Table 5-4.  PRESENT VALUE OF SELECTED TAX EXPENDITURES FOR ACTIVITY IN CALENDAR YEAR 1998
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Present
                                                   Provision                                          Value of
                                                                                                    Revenue Loss
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..........  Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal tax method)..........     5,700
2..........  Deferred taxes for financial firms on income earned overseas.........................       550
3..........  Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax method)...........     1,650
4..........   Expensing of exploration and development costs--fuels...............................        90
5..........   Expensing of exploration and development costs--nonfuels............................        20
6..........  Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs........................................       250
7..........   Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs--agriculture......................        90
8..........   Expensing of certain capital outlays--agriculture...................................        75
9..........  Deferral of income on life insurance and annuity contracts...........................    20,615
10.........  Accelerated depreciation of rental housing (normal tax method).......................     3,415
11.........  Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing (normal tax method)..       560
12.........  Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax method)..............    39,670
13.........  Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method)...........................     1,375
14.........  Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)...................................       180
15.........  Deferral of tax on shipping companies................................................        15
16.........  Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.............................................       180
17.........  Credit for low-income housing investments............................................     2,745
18.........  Exclusion of pension contributions--employer plans...................................    84,430
19.........  Exclusion of IRA contributions and earnings..........................................    13,285
20.........  Exclusion of contributions and earnings for Keogh plans..............................     3,555
21.........  Exclusion of interest on public-purpose bonds........................................    22,360
22.........  Exclusion of interest on non-public purpose bonds....................................     3,435
23.........  Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds...........................................       390
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           Outlay Equivalents

  The concept of ``outlay equivalents'' complements ``revenue losses'' 
as a measure of the budget effect of tax expenditures. It is the amount 
of outlay that would be required to provide the taxpayer the same after-
tax income as would be received through the tax preference. The outlay 
equivalent measure allows a comparison of the cost of the tax 
expenditure with that of a direct Federal outlay. Outlay equivalents are 
reported in table 5-5.
  The measure is larger than the revenue loss estimate when the tax 
expenditure is judged to function as a Government payment for service. 
This occurs because an outlay program would increase the taxpayer's pre-
tax income. For some tax expenditures, however, the revenue loss equals 
the outlay equivalent measure. This occurs when the tax expenditure is 
judged to function like a price reduction or tax deferral that does not 
directly enter the taxpayer's pre-tax income.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Budget outlay figures generally reflect the pre-tax price of the 
resources. In some instances, however, Government purchases or subsidies 
are exempted from tax by a special tax provision. When this occurs, the 
outlay figure understates the resource cost of the program and is, 
therefore, not comparable with other outlay amounts. For example, the 
outlays for certain military personnel allowances are not taxed. If this 
form of compensation were treated as part of the employee's taxable 
income, the Defense Department would have to make larger cash payments 
to its military personnel to leave them as well off after tax as they 
are now. The tax subsidy must be added to the tax-exempt budget outlay 
to make this element of national defense expenditures comparable with 
other outlays.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 117]]


                                     Table 5-5.  OUTLAY EQUIVALENT ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Outlay Equivalents
                                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           1998      1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004    2000-2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  .........  National Defense:
1..........     Exclusion of benefits and allowances to armed forces
                personnel..............................................     2,445     2,470     2,495     2,520     2,545     2,570     2,595     12,725
 
  .........  International affairs:
2..........    Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens......     2,640     2,965     3,315     3,710     4,145     4,590     5,080     20,840
3..........    Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations.......     3,310     3,460     3,700     3,920     4,150     4,460     4,770     21,000
4..........     Inventory property sales source rules exception........     1,550     1,620     1,690     1,770     1,920     2,080     2,230      9,690
5..........     Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations
                (normal tax method)....................................     5,500     5,800     6,200     6,600     7,000     7,450     7,900     35,150
6..........     Deferred taxes for financial firms on income earned
                overseas...............................................       400     1,075        65         0         0         0         0         65
 
  .........  General science, space, and technology:
7..........     Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures
                (normal tax method)....................................       260       330       510       610       675       735       765      3,295
8..........     Credit for increasing research activities..............     3,270     2,550     1,500       650       275        90        15      2,530
 
  .........  Energy:
9..........    Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels...     (130)      (90)      (20)      (25)         0        40        45         40
10.........     Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels........       285       295       300       310       320       325       335      1,590
 11........     Alternative fuel production credit.....................     1,100     1,030       975       915       860       555       165      3,470
 12........     Exception from passive loss limitation for working
                interests in oil and gas properties....................        30        35        35        35        40        40        40        190
 13........     Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal...........        80        85        85        95        95       100       105        480
 14........     Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds.........       155       155       155       165       165       165       165        815
 15........     Enhanced oil recovery credit...........................       215       245       285       325       375       425       490      1,900
 16........     New technology credit..................................        30        40        45        50        55        55        40        245
 17........     Alcohol fuel credits \1\...............................        15        15        15        15        15        15        15         75
 18........    Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles        95       105       115       130       120        95        65        525
 19........     Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies
                provided by public utilities...........................       110       110       105       105       100       105       105        520
 
  .........  Natural resources and environment:
 20........    Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel
                minerals...............................................        30        30        30        30        30        40        40        170
 21........     Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel
                minerals...............................................       275       280       300       310       325       340       350      1,625
 22........     Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and
                hazardous waste facilities.............................       630       630       640       650       650       655       665      3,260
 23........     Capital gains treatment of certain timber income.......        80        85        85        95        95       100       105        480
 24........     Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs..........       485       500       510       530       550       570       590      2,750
 25........     Investment credit and seven-year amortization for
                reforestation expenditures.............................        15        15        15        15        15        15        15         75
 26........     Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures.       215       235       255       275       285       305       315      1,435
 
  .........  Agriculture:
 27........    Expensing of certain capital outlays....................        65        70        70        75        75        80        85        385
 28........     Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs......        80        85        85        90        95       100       105        475
 29........     Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers........        10        10        10        10        10        10        10         50
 30........     Capital gains treatment of certain income..............       805       840       875       915       955     1,000     1,045      4,790
 31........     Income averaging for farmers...........................        10        75        75        80        80        80        85        400
 32........     Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners..............        10        10        10        10        10        15        15         60
 
  .........  Commerce and housing:
               Financial institutions and insurance:
 33........     Exemption of credit union income.......................     1,000     1,070     1,150     1,235     1,325     1,425     1,530      6,665
 34........     Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions.....        70        30        10         5         5         5         0         25
 35........     Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings........    13,465    14,200    14,990    15,810    16,680    17,595    18,840     83,915
 36........     Special alternative tax on small property and casualty
                 insurance companies...................................         5         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
 37........     Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by
                 tax-exempt organizations..............................       290       315       335       345       365       415       450      1,910
 38........     Small life insurance company deduction.................       140       140       140       150       150       150       150        740
               Housing:
 39........     Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage
                 subsidy bonds.........................................     1,230     1,255     1,260     1,270     1,290     1,295     1,315      6,430
 40........     Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds..........       215       215       215       215       220       220       220      1,090
 41........     Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied
                 homes.................................................    51,700    52,990    55,100    57,590    60,415    63,425    66,615    303,145
 42........     Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-
                 occupied homes........................................    17,770    18,595    19,495    20,535    21,625    22,635    23,645    107,935
 43........     Deferral of income from post-1987 installment sales....       975       995     1,015     1,035     1,055     1,075     1,095      5,275
 44........     Capital gains exclusion on home sales..................    21,845    22,500    23,175    23,870    24,590    25,325    26,090    123,050
 45........     Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental
                 loss..................................................     4,735     4,455     4,215     4,000     3,785     3,575     3,375     18,950
 46........     Credit for low-income housing investments..............     4,065     4,210     4,340     4,540     4,610     4,720     4,705     22,915
 47........     Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     2,405     2,740     3,095     4,170     4,590     4,495     4,570     20,920
               Commerce:
 48........     Cancellation of indebtedness...........................        50        30        20        15        20        20        25        100
 49........     Exceptions from imputed interest rules.................       155       160       160       160       165       165       165        815
 50........     Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore,
                 and coal) (normal tax method).........................    51,035    52,555    54,115    55,725    57,380    59,080    60,835    287,135
 51........     Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock.....         0         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
 52........     Step-up basis of capital gains at death................    32,760    34,400    36,120    37,655    39,160    40,725    42,355    196,015
 53........     Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts..............       170       175       185       195       205       210       220      1,015
 54........     Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business
                 corporation stock sale................................        45        45        45        55        55        55        55        265
 55........     Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental
                 housing (normal tax method)...........................     6,270     4,895     3,430     2,385     2,365     1,875       585     10,640

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 56........     Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment
                 (normal tax method)...................................    28,885    32,505    35,465    36,830    36,985    36,510    35,855    181,645
 57........     Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     1,185     1,235     1,275     1,175     1,730     1,605       995      6,780
 58........     Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method).....       205       215       220       225       225       230       240      1,140
 59........     Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax
                 method)...............................................     7,400     7,340     7,340     7,700     8,385     9,150     9,755     42,330
 60........     Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds.............       425       430       435       435       435       445       445      2,195
 
  .........  Transportation:
 61........    Deferral of tax on shipping companies...................        20        20        20        20        20        20        20        100
 62........     Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses......     2,010     2,060     2,105     2,180     2,260     2,345     2,430     11,320
 63........     Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes.........        95       115       130       150       180       215       240        915
 
  .........  Community and regional development:
 64........    Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures
                (other than historic)..................................        30        30        30        30        30        30        30        150
 65........     Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar
                bonds..................................................       995     1,010     1,015     1,025     1,040     1,045     1,060      5,185
 66........     Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income.        45        50        50        50        50        50        55        255
 67........     Empowerment zones and enterprise communities...........       290       380       430       435       415       305       290      1,875
 68........     Expensing of environmental remediation costs...........       120       145       195        80      (15)      (35)      (45)        180
 
  .........  Education, training, employment, and social services:
               Education:
 69........     Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal
                 tax method)...........................................     1,015     1,060     1,105     1,155     1,210     1,265     1,320      6,055
 70........     HOPE tax credit........................................       255     5,150     6,225     6,830     7,345     7,390     7,625     35,415
 71........     Lifetime Learning tax credit...........................       140     3,215     3,405     3,805     3,865     4,305     5,850     21,230
 72........     Education Individual Retirement Accounts...............        25       125       295       480       685       895     1,120      3,475
 73........     Deductibility of student-loan interest.................        90       305       330       390       450       485       530      2,185
 74........     Deferral for State prepaid tuition plans...............        85       125       180       235       285       330       365      1,395
 75........     Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds............       340       340       345       350       350       360       360      1,765
 76........     Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit
                 educational facilities................................       800       820       820       825       835       845       850      4,175
77.........     Credit for holders of zone academy bonds...............         0        15        30        45        50        50        50        225
 78........     Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to
                 finance educational expenses..........................        15        15        20        20        20        20        30        110
 79........     Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over       970     1,010     1,070     1,125     1,165     1,225     1,280      5,865
 80........     Child credit \2\.......................................     4,700    24,985    24,965    24,575    24,215    23,660    22,875    120,290
 81........     Deductibility of charitable contributions (education)..     3,995     4,090     4,250     4,435     4,650     4,870     5,125     23,330
 82........     Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance..       270       270       260        20         0         0         0        280
               Training, employment, and social services:
 83........     Work opportunity tax credit............................       170       335       330       160        40         5         0        535
 84........     Welfare-to-work tax credit.............................        15        35        35        20        10         5         0         70
 85........     Exclusion of employer-provided child care..............     1,765     1,845     1,925     2,015     2,100     2,195     2,285     10,520
 86........     Adoption assistance....................................       155       355       415       470       460       285       205      1,835
 87........     Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than
                 military).............................................       760       795       830       865       905       945       990      4,535
 88........     Credit for child and dependent care expenses...........     3,315     3,275     3,235     3,195     3,155     3,115     3,080     15,780
 89........     Credit for disabled access expenditures................        60        65        65        65        75        80        85        370
 90........     Expensing of costs of removing certain architectural
                 barriers to the handicapped...........................         0         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
 91........     Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than
                 education and health..................................    25,000    25,780    27,015    28,320    29,770    31,310    32,980    149,395
 92........     Exclusion of certain foster care payments..............        45        45        50        50        50        55        60        265
 93........     Exclusion of parsonage allowances......................       390       415       445       475       505       540       580      2,545
 
  .........  Health:
 94........    Exclusion of employer contributions for medical
                insurance premiums and medical care....................    86,925    92,985    99,735   106,890   114,465   122,580   131,280    574,950
 95........    Self-employed medical insurance premiums................       935     1,195     1,600     1,715     1,890     2,505     3,545     11,255
 96........    Workers' compensation insurance premiums................     5,320     5,520     5,730     5,945     6,170     6,400     6,645     30,890
 97........    Medical Savings Accounts................................        20        30        30        35        30        30        25        150
 98........    Deductibility of medical expenses.......................     3,615     3,775     3,985     4,215     4,475     4,750     5,035     22,460
 99........    Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds....     1,665     1,680     1,695     1,705     1,725     1,750     1,765      8,640
100........    Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)......     3,520     3,600     3,760     3,930     4,120     4,330     4,560     20,700
101........    Tax credit for orphan drug research.....................        60        75        80        90       105       115       130        520
102........    Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction................       280       310       335       375       435       385       335      1,865
 
  .........  Income security:
103........    Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits........       420       420       425       425       430       435       440      2,155
104........     Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits............     5,140     5,330     5,475     5,940     6,205     6,480     6,755     30,855
105........     Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax
                method)................................................       440       345       360       375       390       405       420      1,950
106........     Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners.        85        80        75        70        70        65        60        340
107........     Exclusion of military disability pensions..............       120       125       130       135       140       140       145        690
               Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
108........     Employer plans.........................................   106,170   106,840   109,760   112,750   116,015   119,475   122,975    580,975
109........     Individual Retirement Accounts.........................    14,115    14,475    15,095    15,570    15,855    15,940    15,845     78,305
110........     Keogh plans............................................     5,010     5,105     5,400     5,705     6,025     6,360     6,710     30,200
               Exclusion of other employee benefits:
111........     Premiums on group term life insurance..................     2,690     2,750     2,815     2,880     2,945     3,015     3,085     14,740

[[Page 119]]

 
112........     Premiums on accident and disability insurance..........       225       235       250       260       275       290       305      1,380
113........     Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment
                benefits...............................................         5         5         5         5         5         5         5         25
114........     Special ESOP rules.....................................     1,280     1,320     1,360     1,415     1,470     1,530     1,585      7,360
115........     Additional deduction for the blind.....................        35        35        35        35        40        40        45        195
116........     Additional deduction for the elderly...................     2,045     2,085     2,105     2,175     2,275     2,355     2,440     11,350
117........     Tax credit for the elderly and disabled................        50        50        50        50        50        50        55        255
118........     Deductibility of casualty losses.......................       245       260       270       285       295       310       320      1,480
119........     Earned income tax credit \3\...........................     7,056     5,687     5,523     5,714     5,861     6,079     6,303     29,480
 
  .........  Social Security:
               Exclusion of social security benefits:
120........     Social Security benefits for retired workers...........    16,780    17,210    18,125    19,045    20,100    21,260    22,460    100,990
121........     Social Security benefits for disabled..................     2,265     2,420     2,615     2,820     3,060     3,325     3,625     15,445
122........     Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors..     3,725     3,785     3,910     4,065     4,235     4,405     4,575     21,190
 
  .........  Veterans benefits and services:
123........     Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability
                compensation...........................................     2,820     2,940     3,070     3,210     3,350     3,495     3,650     16,775
124........     Exclusion of veterans pensions.........................        65        65        70        75        80        85        85        395
125........     Exclusion of GI bill benefits..........................        65        75        85        90        90        95       100        460
126........    Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds.........        60        60        60        60        60        60        60        300
 
  .........  General purpose fiscal assistance:
127........     Exclusion of interest on public purpose bonds..........    28,720    29,005    29,290    29,595    29,890    30,190    30,490    149,455
128........    Deductibility of nonbusiness State and local taxes other
                than on owner-occupied homes...........................    32,795    34,925    37,000    39,235    41,715    44,490    47,400    209,840
129........    Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing
                business in U.S. possessions...........................     3,960     4,000     4,120     4,245     4,285     4,150     4,215     21,015
 
  .........  Interest:
130........    Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds..............       965     1,015     1,065     1,115     1,175     1,235     1,295      5,885
 
  .........  Addendum--Aid to State and local governments:
               Deductibility of:
                Property taxes on owner-occupied homes.................    17,770    18,595    19,495    20,535    21,625    22,635    23,645    107,935
                Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-
                 occupied homes........................................    32,795    34,925    37,000    39,235    41,715    44,490    47,400    209,840
               Exclusion of interest on:
                Public purpose State and local debt....................    28,720    29,005    29,290    29,595    29,890    30,190    30,490    149,455
                IDBs for certain energy facilities.....................       155       155       155       165       165       165       165        815
                IDBs for pollution control and sewage and waste
                 disposal facilities...................................       630       630       640       650       650       655       665      3,260
                Small-issue IDBs.......................................       425       430       435       435       435       445       445      2,195
                Owner-occupied mortgage revenue bonds..................     1,230     1,255     1,260     1,270     1,290     1,295     1,315      6,430
                State and local debt for rental housing................       215       215       215       215       220       220       220      1,090
                IDBs for airports, docks, and sports and convention
                 facilities............................................       995     1,010     1,015     1,025     1,040     1,045     1,060      5,185
                State and local student loan bonds.....................       340       340       345       350       350       360       360      1,765
                State and local debt for private nonprofit educational
                 facilities............................................       800       820       820       825       835       845       850      4,175
                State and local debt for private nonprofit health
                 facilities............................................     1,665     1,680     1,695     1,705     1,725     1,750     1,765      8,640
                State and local debt for veterans housing..............        60        60        60        60        60        60        60        300
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In addition, the partial exemption from the excise tax for alcohol fuels results in a reduction in excise tax receipts (in millions of dollars) as
  follows: 1998 $680; 1999 $725; 2000 $755; 2001 $765; 2002 $790; 2003 $805; and 2004 $830.
 
\2\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 1998
  $0; 1999 $415; 2000 $528; 2001 $496; 2002 $483; 2003 $453; and 2004 $425.
 
\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as
  follows: 1998 $23,240; 1999 $25,650; 2000 $26,525; 2001 $27,265; 2002 $27,975; 2003 $28,705; and 2004 $29,655.
 
Note: Provisions with estimates denoted normal tax method have no revenue loss under the reference tax law method.
 
All estimates have been rounded to the nearest $5 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not included in the table.

                        Tax Expenditure Baselines

  A tax expenditure is a preferential exception to the baseline 
provisions of the tax structure. The 1974 Congressional Budget Act does 
not, however, specify the baseline provisions of the tax law. Deciding 
whether provisions are preferential exceptions, therefore, is a matter 
of judgement. As in prior years, this year's tax expenditure estimates 
are presented using two baselines: the normal tax baseline, which is 
used by the Joint Committee on Taxation, and the reference tax law 
baseline, which has been reported by the Administration since 1983.
  The normal tax baseline is patterned on a comprehensive income tax, 
which defines income as the sum of consumption and the change in net 
wealth in a given period of time. The normal tax baseline allows 
personal exemptions, a standard deduction, and deductions of the 
expenses incurred in earning income. It is not limited to a particular 
structure of tax rates, or by a specific definition of the taxpaying 
unit.
  The reference tax law baseline is also patterned on a comprehensive 
income tax, but in practice is closer to existing law. Reference law tax 
expenditures are limited to special exceptions in the tax code that 
serve

[[Page 120]]

programmatic functions. These functions correspond to specific budget 
categories such as national defense, agriculture, or health care. While 
tax expenditures under the reference law baseline are generally tax 
expenditures under the normal tax baseline, the reverse is not always 
true.
  Both the normal and reference tax baselines allow several major 
departures from a pure comprehensive income tax. For example:
    Income is taxable when realized in exchange. Thus, neither 
          the deferral of tax on unrealized capital gains nor the tax 
          exclusion of imputed income (such as the rental value of 
          owner-occupied housing or farmers' consumption of their own 
          produce) is regarded as a tax expenditure. Both accrued and 
          imputed income would be taxed under a comprehensive income 
          tax.
    There is a separate corporation income tax. Under a 
          comprehensive income tax, corporate income would be taxed only 
          once--at the shareholder level, whether or not distributed in 
          the form of dividends.
    Values of assets and debt are not adjusted for inflation. A 
          comprehensive income tax would adjust the cost basis of 
          capital assets and debt for changes in the price level during 
          the time the assets or debt are held. Thus, under a 
          comprehensive income tax baseline, the failure to take account 
          of inflation in measuring depreciation, capital gains, and 
          interest income would be regarded as a negative tax 
          expenditure (i.e., a tax penalty), and failure to take account 
          of inflation in measuring interest costs would be regarded as 
          a positive tax expenditure (i.e., a tax subsidy).
  While the reference law and normal tax baselines are generally 
similar, areas of difference include:
    Tax rates. The separate schedules applying to the various 
          taxpaying units are included in the reference law baseline. 
          Thus, corporate tax rates below the maximum statutory rate do 
          not give rise to a tax expenditure. The normal tax baseline is 
          similar, except that it specifies the current maximum rate as 
          the baseline for the corporate income tax. The lower tax rates 
          applied to the first $10 million of corporate income are thus 
          regarded as a tax expenditure. Similarly, under the reference 
          law baseline, preferential tax rates for capital gains 
          generally do not yield a tax expenditure; only capital gains 
          treatment of otherwise ``ordinary income,'' such as that from 
          coal and iron ore royalties and the sale of timber and certain 
          agricultural products, is considered a tax expenditure. The 
          alternative minimum tax is treated as part of the baseline 
          rate structure under both the reference and normal tax 
          methods.
    Income subject to the tax. Income subject to tax is defined 
          as gross income less the costs of earning that income. The 
          Federal income tax defines gross income to include: (1) 
          consideration received in the exchange of goods and services, 
          including labor services or property; and (2) the taxpayer's 
          share of gross or net income earned and/or reported by another 
          entity (such as a partnership). Under the reference tax rules, 
          therefore, gross income does not include gifts--defined as 
          receipts of money or property that are not consideration in an 
          exchange--or most transfer payments, which can be thought of 
          as gifts from the Government.\2\ The normal tax baseline also 
          excludes gifts between individuals from gross income. Under 
          the normal tax baseline, however, all cash transfer payments 
          from the Government to private individuals are counted in 
          gross income, and exemptions of such transfers from tax are 
          identified as tax expenditures. The costs of earning income 
          are generally deductible in determining taxable income under 
          both the reference and normal tax baselines.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \2\ Gross income does, however, include transfer payments associated 
with past employment, such as social security benefits.
  \3\ In the case of individuals who hold ``passive'' equity interests 
in businesses, however, the pro-rata shares of sales and expense 
deductions reportable in a year are limited. A passive business activity 
is defined to be one in which the holder of the interest, usually a 
partnership interest, does not actively perform managerial or other 
participatory functions. The taxpayer may generally report no larger 
deductions for a year than will reduce taxable income from such 
activities to zero. Deductions in excess of the limitation may be taken 
in subsequent years, or when the interest is liquidated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Capital recovery. Under the reference tax law baseline no 
          tax expenditures arise from accelerated depreciation. Under 
          the normal tax baseline, the depreciation allowance for 
          machinery and equipment is determined using straight-line 
          depreciation over tax lives equal to mid-values of the asset 
          depreciation range (a depreciation system in effect from 1971 
          through 1980). The normal tax baseline for real property is 
          computed using 40-year straight-line depreciation.
    Treatment of foreign income.  Both the normal and reference 
          tax baselines allow a tax credit for foreign income taxes paid 
          (up to the amount of U.S. income taxes that would otherwise be 
          due), which prevents double taxation of income earned abroad. 
          Under the normal tax method, however, controlled foreign 
          corporations (CFCs) are not regarded as entities separate from 
          their controlling U.S. shareholders. Thus, the deferral of tax 
          on income received by CFCs is regarded as a tax expenditure 
          under this method. In contrast, except for tax haven 
          activities, the reference law baseline follows current law in 
          treating CFCs as separate taxable entities whose income is not 
          subject to U.S. tax until distributed to U.S. taxpayers. Under 
          this baseline, deferral of tax on CFC income is not a tax 
          expenditure because U.S. taxpayers generally are not taxed on 
          accrued, but unrealized, income.
  In addition to these areas of difference, the Joint Committee on 
Taxation considers a somewhat broader set of tax expenditures under its 
normal tax baseline than is considered here.

[[Page 121]]

    Performance Measures and the Economic Effects of Tax Expenditures

  Under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), 
Federal agencies are directed to develop both strategic and annual plans 
for their programs and activities. These plans set out performance 
objectives to be achieved over a specific time period. Achieving most of 
these objectives will largely be the result of direct expenditures of 
funds. However, tax expenditures may also contribute to goal 
achievement.
  The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee report on this Act\4\ called 
on the Executive branch to undertake a series of analyses to assess the 
effect of specific tax expenditures on the achievement of the goals and 
objectives in these strategic and annual plans. As described in OMB's 
May 1997 report on this Act,\5\ Treasury in 1997 initiated pilot studies 
of three specific tax expenditures in order to explore evaluation 
methods and resource needs associated with evaluating the relationship 
between tax expenditures and performance goals. Tax expenditures were 
selected within the Office of Tax Analysis in each of the three main 
areas--individual, business, and international taxation. The specific 
provisions considered were: the tax exemption for worker's compensation 
benefits; the tax credit for nonconventional fuels; and the tax 
exclusion for certain amounts of income earned by Americans living 
abroad. The results of these studies are summarized in the context of 
the three specific provisions in the section that follows, which 
provides provision descriptions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \4\ Committee on Government Affairs, United States Senate, 
``Government Performance and Results Act of 1993'' (Report 103-58, 
1993).
  \5\ Director of the Office of Management and Budget, ``The Government 
Performance and Results Act,'' Report to the President and the Congress, 
May 1997.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Over the next few years, the Administration's plan is to undertake 
additional studies that will focus on the availability of the data 
needed to assess the effects of selected significant tax expenditures, 
primarily those designed to increase savings. In addition, summarized 
data on the beneficiaries and other economic properties of such 
provisions will be developed where feasible. This effort will complement 
information published by the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Senate 
Budget Committee on the rationale, beneficiaries, and effects of tax 
expenditures.\6\ One finding of the pilot studies is that much of the 
data needed for thorough analysis is not currently available. Hence, 
assessment of data needs and availability from Federal statistical 
agencies, program-agency studies, or private-sector sources, and, when 
feasible, publication of data on selected tax expenditures should prove 
valuable to broader efforts to assess the effects tax expenditures and 
to compare their effectiveness with outlay, regulatory and other tax 
polices as means of achieving objectives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \6\ Joint Committee on Taxation, ``Estimates of Federal Tax 
Expenditures for Fiscal Years 1999-1993,'' JCS-7-98, December 14, 1998; 
and Committee on the Budget, United States Senate, ``Tax Expenditures: 
Compendium of Background Material on Individual Provisions,'' prepared 
by the Congressional Research Service (S. Prt. 104-69, December 1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Comparisons of tax expenditure, spending, and regulatory policies. Tax 
expenditures by definition work through the tax system and, 
particularly, the income tax. Thus, they may be relatively advantageous 
policy approaches when the benefit or incentive is related to income and 
is intended to be widely available.\7\ Because there is an existing 
public administrative and private compliance structure for the tax 
system, the incremental administrative and compliance costs for a tax 
expenditure may be low in many, though not all, cases. In addition, tax 
expenditures may help simplify the tax system, as where they leave 
certain income sources untaxed (e.g, exemptions for employer fringe 
benefits or exclusions for up to $500,000 of capital gains on home 
sales). Tax expenditures also implicitly subsidize certain activities, 
which benefit recipients; the beneficiaries experience reduced taxes 
that are offset by higher taxes (or spending reductions) elsewhere. 
Regulatory or tax-disincentive policies, which can also modify behavior, 
would have a different distributional impact. Finally, a variety of tax 
expenditure tools can be used--e.g., deductions, credits, exemptions and 
deferrals; floors and ceilings; and phase-ins and phase-outs, dependent 
on income, expenses, or demographic characteristics (age, number of 
family members, etc.). This wide range means that tax expenditures can 
be flexible and can have very different distributional and cost-
effectiveness properties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \7\ While this section focuses upon tax expenditures under the income 
tax, tax preferences also arise under the unified transfer, payroll, and 
excise tax systems. Such preferences can be useful when they relate to 
the base of those taxes, such as an excise tax exemption for certain 
types of consumption deemed meritorious.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tax expenditures also have limitations. In some cases they can add to 
the complexity of the tax system, which can raise both administrative 
and compliance costs; for example, various holding periods and tax rates 
for capital gains can complicate filing and decisionmaking. Also, the 
income tax system does not gather information on wealth, in contrast to 
certain loan programs that are based on recipients' assets and income. 
In addition, the tax system may have little or no contact with persons 
who have no or very low incomes, and incentives for such persons may 
need to take the form of refunds. These features may reduce the 
effectiveness of tax expenditures for addressing certain income-transfer 
objectives. Tax expenditures also generally do not enable the same 
degree of agency discretion as an outlay program; for example, grant or 
direct Federal service delivery programs can prioritize which activities 
are addressed with what amount of resources in a way that is difficult 
to emulate with tax expenditures. Finally, tax expenditures tend to 
escape the budget scrutiny afforded to other programs. For instance, a 
program funded by a tax expenditure does not increase government outlays 
as a share of national product and it may even decrease receipts as a 
share of output. However, the effective government compensation to a 
service provider can be identical to that of a spending program under 
which the outlay (and possibly the receipts) share of GDP may increase.
  Outlay programs, in contrast, have advantages where direct government 
service provision is particularly warranted--such as equipping and 
providing the armed forces or administering the system of justice. 
Outlay

[[Page 121]]

programs may also be specifically designed to meet the needs of low-
income families who would not otherwise be subject to income taxes or 
need to file a return. Outlay programs may also receive more year-to-
year oversight and fine tuning, through the legislative and executive 
budget process. In addition, many different types of spending programs--
including direct government provision; credit programs; and payments to 
State and local governments, the private sector, or individuals in the 
form of grants or contracts--provide flexibility for policy design. On 
the other hand, certain outlay programs--such as direct government 
service provision--may rely less directly on economic incentives and 
private-market provision than tax incentives, which may reduce the 
relative efficiency of spending programs for some goals. Spending 
programs also require resources to be raised via taxes, user charges, or 
government borrowing. Finally, spending programs, particularly on the 
discretionary side, may respond less readily to changing activity levels 
and economic conditions than tax expenditures.
  Regulations have a key distributional difference from outlay and tax-
expenditure programs in that the immediate distributional burden of the 
regulation typically falls on the regulated party (i.e., the intended 
actor)--generally in the private sector. While the regulated parties can 
pass costs along through product or input prices, the initial incidence 
is on the regulated party. Regulations can be fine-tuned more quickly 
than tax expenditures, as they can generally be changed by the executive 
branch without legislation. Like tax expenditures, regulations often 
largely rely upon voluntary compliance, rather than detailed inspections 
and policing. As such, the public administrative costs tend to be 
modest, relative to the private resource costs associated with modifying 
activities. Historically, regulations have tended to rely on 
proscriptive measures, as opposed to economic incentives. This reliance 
can diminish their economic efficiency, though this feature can also 
promote full compliance where (as in certain safety-related cases) 
policymakers believe that trade-offs with economic considerations are 
not of paramount importance. Also, regulations generally do not directly 
affect the Federal budget and outlays and receipts as a percentage of 
national output. Thus, like tax expenditures, they may escape the type 
of scrutiny that outlay programs receive. However, most regulations are 
subjected to a formal type of benefit-cost analysis that goes well 
beyond the analysis required for outlay and tax-expenditure programs. To 
some extent, the GPRA requirement for performance evaluation will 
address this lack of formal analysis.
  There are examples of policy objectives that employ multiple 
approaches. Minimum wage legislation, the earned income tax credit, and 
the food stamp program are examples of programs that utilize regulatory, 
tax expenditure, and direct outlay approaches, respectively, in order to 
improve the economic welfare of low-wage workers. Their relative 
strengths and weaknesses have merited significant attention.
  Tax expenditures, like spending and regulatory programs, have a 
variety of objectives and effects. These include: encouraging certain 
types of activities (e.g., saving for retirement or investing in certain 
sectors); increasing certain types of after-tax income (e.g., favorable 
tax treatment of social security income); reducing private compliance 
costs and government administrative costs (e.g., favorable treatment of 
certain employer-provided fringe benefits); and promoting tax neutrality 
(e.g., accelerated depreciation in the presence of inflation). Some of 
these objectives are well suited to quantitative measurement, while 
others are less well suited. Also, many tax expenditures, including 
those cited above, may have more than one objective. For example, 
favorable treatment of employer-provided pensions might be argued to 
have aspects of most, or even all, of the goals mentioned above. In 
addition, the economic effects of particular provisions can extend 
beyond their intended objectives (e.g., a provision intended to promote 
an activity or raise certain incomes may have positive or negative 
effects on tax neutrality).
  Performance measurement is generally concerned with inputs, outputs, 
and outcomes. In the case of tax expenditures, the principal input is 
usually the tax revenue loss. Outputs are quantitative or qualitative 
measures of goods and services, or changes in income and investment, 
directly produced by these inputs. Outcomes, in turn, represent the 
changes in the economy, society, or environment that are the ultimate 
goals of programs.
  Thus, for a provision that reduces taxes on certain investment 
activity, an increase in the amount of investment would likely be a key 
output. The resulting production from that investment, and, in turn, the 
associated improvements in national income, welfare, or security, could 
be the outcomes of interest. For other provisions, such as those 
designed to address a potential inequity or unintended consequence in 
the tax code, an important performance measure might be how they change 
effective tax rates (the discounted present-value of taxes owed on new 
investments or incremental earnings) or excess burden (an economic 
measure of the distortions caused by taxes). Distributional effects on 
incomes may be an important measure for certain provisions.

  An overview of evaluation issues by budget function. The discussion 
below considers the types of measures that might be useful for some 
major programmatic groups of tax expenditures. The discussion is 
intended to be illustrative and not all encompassing. However, it is 
premised on the assumption that the data needed to perform the analysis 
are available or can be developed. In practice, data availability is 
likely to be a major challenge, and data constraints may limit the 
assessment of the effectiveness of many of the provisions for some time. 
In addition, such assessments can raise significant challenges in 
economic modeling. For these reasons, and related time, staffing, and 
resource constraints, the evaluation process is likely to take a number 
of years and to include qualitative assessments

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and estimated ranges of effects, in many cases, as opposed to point 
estimates.
  National defense.--Some tax expenditures are intended to assist 
governmental activities. For example, tax preferences for military 
benefits reflect, among other things, the view that benefits such as 
housing, subsistence, and moving expenses are intrinsic aspects of 
military service, and are provided, in part, for the benefit of the 
employer, the U.S. Government. Tax benefits for combat service are 
intended to reduce tax burdens on military personnel undertaking 
hazardous service for the Nation. A portion of the tax expenditure 
associated with foreign earnings is targeted to benefit U.S. Government 
civilian personnel working abroad by offsetting the living costs that 
can be higher than those in the United States. These tax expenditures 
should be considered together with direct agency budget costs in making 
programmatic decisions.
  International affairs.--Tax expenditures are also aimed at promoting 
U.S. exports. These include the exclusion for income earned abroad by 
nongovernmental employees and preferences for income from exports and 
U.S.-controlled foreign corporations. Measuring the effectiveness of 
these provisions raises challenging issues. In addition to determining 
their effectiveness in markets of the benefitting firms, analysis should 
consider the extent to which macroeconomic factors lead to offsetting 
effects, such as increased imports, which could moderate any net effects 
on employment, national output, and trade deficits. Similar issues arise 
in the case of export promotion programs supported by outlays.
  General science, space and technology; energy; natural resources and 
the environment; agriculture; and commerce and housing.--A series of tax 
expenditures reduces the cost of investment, both in specific 
activities--such as research and experimentation, extractive industries, 
and certain financial activities--and more generally, through 
accelerated depreciation for plant and equipment. These provisions can 
be evaluated along a number of dimensions. For example, it could be 
useful to consider the strength of the incentives by measuring their 
effects on the cost of capital (the interest rate which investments must 
yield to cover their costs) and effective tax rates. The impact of these 
provisions on the amounts of corresponding forms of investment--such as 
research spending, exploration activity, or equipment--could also be 
estimated. In some cases, such as research, there is evidence that the 
investment can provide significant positive externalities--that is, 
economic benefits that are not reflected in the market transactions 
between private parties. It could be useful to quantify these 
externalities and compare them with the degree of tax subsidy provided. 
Measures could also indicate the provisions' effects on production from 
these investments--such as numbers or values of patents, energy 
production and reserves, and industrial production. Issues to be 
considered include the extent to which the preferences increase 
production (as opposed to benefitting existing output) and their cost-
effectiveness relative to other policies. Analysis could also consider 
objectives that are more difficult to measure but still are ultimate 
goals, such as promoting the Nation's technological base, energy 
security, environmental quality, or economic growth. Such an assessment 
is likely to involve tax analysis as well as consideration of non-tax 
matters such as market structure, scientific, and other information 
(such as the effects of increased domestic fuel production on imports 
from various regions, or the effects of various energy sources on the 
environment).
  Housing investment also benefits from tax expenditures, including the 
mortgage interest deduction and preferential treatment of capital gains 
on homes. Measures of the effectiveness of these provisions could 
include their effects on increasing the extent of home ownership and the 
quality of housing. In addition, the mortgage interest deduction offsets 
the taxable nature of investment income received by homeowners, so the 
relationship between the deduction and such earnings is also relevant to 
evaluation of this provision. Similarly, analysis of the extent of 
accumulated inflationary gains is likely to be relevant to evaluation of 
the capital gains preference for home sales. Deductibility of State and 
local property taxes assists with making housing more affordable as well 
as easing the cost of providing community services through these taxes. 
Provisions intended to promote investment in rental housing could be 
evaluated for their effects on making such housing more available and 
affordable. These provisions should then be compared with alternative 
programs that address housing supply and demand.

  Transportation.--Employer-provided parking is a fringe benefit that, 
for the most part, is excluded from taxation. The tax expenditure 
revenue loss estimates reflect the cost of parking that is leased by 
employers for employees; an estimate is not currently available for the 
value of parking owned by employers and provided to their employees. The 
exclusion for employer-provided transit passes is intended to promote 
use of this mode of transportation, which has environmental and 
congestion benefits. The tax treatments of these different benefits 
could be compared with alternative transportation policies.
  Community and regional development.--A series of tax expenditures is 
intended to promote community and regional development by reducing the 
costs of financing specialized infrastructure, such as airports, docks, 
and stadiums. Empowerment zone and enterprise community provisions are 
designed to promote activity in disadvantaged areas. These provisions 
can be compared with grant and other policies designed to spur economic 
development.
  Education, training, employment, and social services.--Major 
provisions in this function are intended to promote post-secondary 
education, to offset costs of raising children, and to promote a variety 
of

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charitable activities. The education incentives can be compared with 
loans, grants, and other programs designed to promote higher education 
and training. The child credits are intended to adjust the tax system 
for the costs of raising children; as such, they could be compared to 
other Federal tax and spending policies, including related features of 
the tax system, such as personal exemptions (which are not defined as a 
tax expenditure). Evaluation of charitable activities requires 
consideration of the beneficiaries of these activities, who are 
generally not the parties receiving the tax reduction.
  Health.--Individuals also benefit from favorable treatment of 
employer-provided health insurance. Measures of these benefits could 
include increased coverage and the distribution of this coverage across 
different income groups. The effects of insurance coverage on final 
outcome measures of actual health (e.g., infant mortality, days of work 
lost due to illness, or life expectancy) or intermediate outcomes (e.g., 
use of preventive health care or health care costs) could also be 
investigated. The distribution of employer-provided health insurance is 
not readily evident from tax return information; thus, the distribution 
of benefits from this exclusion must be imputed using tax as well as 
other forms of information.
  Income security, social security, and veterans benefits and 
services.--Major tax expenditures in the income security function 
benefit retirement savings, through employer-provided pensions, 
individual retirement accounts, and Keogh plans. These provisions might 
be evaluated in terms of their effects on boosting retirement incomes, 
private savings, and national savings (which would include the effect on 
private savings as well as public savings or deficits). In considering 
the provisions' distributional effects, it may be useful to consider 
beneficiaries' incomes while retired and over their entire lifetimes. 
Interactions with other programs, including social security, also may 
merit analysis. As in the case of employer-provided health insurance, 
analysis of employer-provided pension programs requires imputing the 
benefits of the firm-level contributions back to individuals.
  Other provisions principally have income distribution, rather than 
incentive, effects. For example, tax-favored treatment of social 
security benefits, certain veterans benefits, and deductions for the 
blind and elderly provide increased incomes to eligible parties. The 
distribution of these benefits may be a useful performance measure. The 
earned-income tax credit, in contrast, should be evaluated both for its 
effects on labor force participation and its distributional properties.

  General purpose fiscal assistance and interest.--The tax-exemption for 
public purpose State and local bonds reduces the costs of borrowing for 
a variety of purposes; borrowing for non-public purposes is reflected 
under other budget functions. The deductibility of certain State and 
local taxes reflected under this function primarily relates to personal 
income taxes; property tax deductibility is reflected under the commerce 
and housing function. Tax preferences for Puerto Rico and other U.S. 
possessions are also included here. These provisions can be compared 
with other tax and spending policies as means of benefitting fiscal and 
economic conditions in the States, localities, and possessions. Finally, 
the tax deferral for interest on U.S. savings bonds benefits savers who 
invest in these instruments; the extent of these benefits and any 
effects on Federal borrowing costs could be evaluated.
  The above illustrative discussion, while broad, is nevertheless 
incomplete, both for the provisions mentioned and the many that are not 
explicitly cited. Developing a framework that is sufficiently 
comprehensive, accurate, and flexible to reflect the objectives and 
effects of the wide range of tax expenditures will be a significant 
challenge. OMB, Treasury, and other agencies will work together, as 
appropriate, to address this challenge. Particularly over the next few 
years, a significant portion of this effort is likely to be devoted to 
data issues. Because the compilation of data is resource intensive, and 
must be balanced with other objectives (including minimizing information 
collection burdens), careful planning will be essential. Given the 
challenges inherent in this work, the nature of the analyses is likely 
to evolve and improve over the next several years.

                          Other Considerations

  The tax expenditure analysis could be extended beyond the income and 
transfer taxes to include payroll and excise taxes. The exclusion of 
certain forms of compensation from the wage base, for instance, reduces 
payroll taxes, as well as income taxes. Payroll tax exclusions are 
complex to analyze, however, because they also affect social insurance 
benefits. Certain targeted excise tax provisions might also be 
considered tax expenditures. In this case challenges include determining 
an appropriate baseline.

                  Descriptions of Income Tax Provisions

  Descriptions of the individual and corporate income tax expenditures 
reported upon in this chapter follow.

                            National Defense

  1. Benefits and allowances to armed forces personnel.--The housing and 
meals provided military personnel, either in cash or in kind, as well as 
certain amounts of pay related to combat service, are excluded from 
income subject to tax.

                          International Affairs

  2. Income earned abroad.--In 1998, a U.S. citizen or resident alien 
who resides or stays overseas for at least 11 of the past 12 months may 
exclude $72,000 per year of foreign-earned income. The exclusion limit 
increases in $2,000 annual increments until it reaches $80,000 in 2002. 
Eligible taxpayers also may exclude or deduct reasonable housing costs 
in excess of one-sixth of the salary of a civil servant at grade GS-14,

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step 1 ($61,656 in 1998). Federal employees working abroad are not 
eligible for the foreign-earned income exclusion. Federal employees, 
however, may exclude certain allowances from their taxable income.
  The exclusion for certain income earned abroad was one of the tax 
expenditures examined by the Department of the Treasury in its pilot 
performance evaluations this year. This tax expenditure consists of two 
specific components: section 911 of the tax code, which covers private-
sector employees, and section 912, which covers civilian government 
employees.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \8\ Section 911 was also the subject of a January 1993 Treasury report 
to Congress, ``Taxation of Americans Working Overseas.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  The benefits for private-sector employees account for about 85 percent 
of the combined revenue loss from the two tax expenditures. The private-
sector provision is intended to promote U.S. exports, help make U.S. 
companies competitive when doing business abroad, and to offset the 
costs of living abroad, which can be higher than costs in the United 
States. Because American workers in higher-tax nations can offset their 
U.S. taxes through use of the foreign tax credit, in practice the 
provision primarily benefits U.S. citizens who work in nations with 
income taxes that are lower than U.S. taxes. Using tax-return data from 
1987, Treasury finds that 70 percent of the benefit of the provision 
goes to taxpayers with income (defined here as adjusted gross income 
plus the exclusion) above $50,000; over 98 percent of the housing 
exclusion, went to this group of taxpayers.
  The provision benefitting civilian government employees is intended to 
help them maintain their standard of living when stationed abroad by 
compensating them for the higher costs of living abroad. To the extent 
that this compensation is carried out via the tax code, as opposed to 
agency appropriations, costs are shifted from outlays to revenue losses.
  3. Income of Foreign Sales Corporations.--The Foreign Sales 
Corporation (FSC) provisions exempt from tax a portion of U.S. 
exporters' foreign trading income to reflect the FSC's sales functions 
as foreign corporations. These provisions conform to the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
  4. Sales source rule exceptions.--The worldwide income of U.S. persons 
is taxable by the United States and a credit for foreign taxes paid is 
allowed. The amount of foreign taxes that can be credited is limited to 
the pre-credit U.S. tax on the foreign source income. The sales source 
rules for inventory property allow U.S. exporters to use more foreign 
tax credits by allowing the exporters to attribute a larger portion of 
their earnings abroad than would be the case if the allocation of 
earnings was based on actual economic activity.
  5. Income of U.S.-controlled foreign corporations.--The income of 
foreign corporations controlled by U.S. shareholders is not subject to 
U.S. taxation. The income becomes taxable only when the controlling U.S. 
shareholders receive dividends or other distributions from their foreign 
stockholding. Under the normal tax method, the currently attributable 
foreign source pre-tax income from such a controlling interest is 
subject to U.S. taxation, whether or not distributed. Thus, the normal 
tax method considers the amount of controlled foreign corporation income 
not distributed to a U.S. shareholder as tax-deferred income.
  6. Exceptions under subpart F for active financing income.--Financial 
firms can defer taxes on income earned overseas in an active business. 
This provision was originally enacted in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 
1997, was canceled by a line-item veto by the President, and was 
restored by the Supreme Court decision declaring the line-item veto 
unconstitutional.

                 General Science, Space, and Technology

  7. Expensing R&E expenditures.--Research and experimentation (R&E) 
projects can be viewed as investments because, if successful, their 
benefits accrue for several years. It is often difficult, however, to 
identify whether a specific R&E project is successful and, if 
successful, what its expected life will be. Under the normal tax method, 
the expensing of R&E expenditures is viewed as a tax expenditure. The 
baseline assumed for the normal tax method is that all R&E expenditures 
are successful and have an expected life of five years.
  8. R&E credit.--The research and experimentation (R&E) credit, which 
expired on June 30, 1998, was reinstated (retroactively) in the Tax and 
Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998 for one year (through June 30, 1999). 
The tax credit is 20 percent of qualified research expenditures in 
excess of a base amount. The base amount is generally determined by 
multiplying a ``fixed-base percentage'' (limited to a maximum of .16) by 
the average amount of the company's gross receipts for the 1984 to 1988 
period. Certain start-up companies are assigned a fixed-base percentage 
of .03 for the first five taxable years, which is gradually phased out 
in years 6 through 10 and replaced by the firm's actual fixed-base 
percentage. Taxpayers may also elect an alternative credit regime. Under 
the alternative credit regime, the credit rate is reduced and the 
taxpayer is assigned a three-tiered fixed-base percentage that is lower 
than the fixed-base percentage that would otherwise apply. A credit with 
a separate threshold is provided for a taxpayer's payments to 
universities for basic research.

                                 Energy

  9. Exploration and development costs.--For successful investments in 
domestic oil and gas wells, intangible drilling costs (e.g., wages, the 
costs of using machinery for grading and drilling, the cost of 
unsalvageable materials used in constructing wells) may be expensed 
rather than amortized over the productive life of the property. 
Integrated oil companies may deduct only 70 percent of such costs and 
must amortize the remaining 30 percent over five years. The same rule 
applies to the exploration and development costs of surface stripping 
and the construction of shafts and tunnels for other fuel minerals.

[[Page 126]]

  10. Percentage depletion.--Independent fuel mineral producers and 
royalty owners are generally allowed to take percentage depletion 
deductions rather than cost depletion on limited quantities of output. 
Under cost depletion, outlays are deducted over the productive life of 
the property based on the fraction of the resource extracted. Under 
percentage depletion, taxpayers deduct a percentage of gross income from 
mineral production at rates of 22 percent for uranium; 15 percent for 
oil, gas and oil shale; and 10 percent for coal. The deduction is 
limited to 50 percent of net income from the property, except for oil 
and gas where the deduction can be 100 percent of net property income. 
Production from geothermal deposits is eligible for percentage depletion 
at 65 percent of net income, but with no limit on output and no 
limitation with respect to qualified producers. Unlike depreciation or 
cost depletion, percentage depletion deductions can exceed the cost of 
the investment.
  11. Alternative fuel production credit.--A nontaxable credit of $3 per 
barrel (in 1979 dollars) of oil-equivalent production is provided for 
several forms of alternative fuels. The credit is generally available if 
the price of oil stays below $29.50 (in 1979 dollars). The credit 
generally expires on December 31, 2002.
  Treasury reviewed the nonconventional fuel production tax credit as 
one of its pilot studies of tax expenditures under the Government 
Performance and Results Act. The provision provides a significant 
credit--currently about $6 per barrel of oil equivalent or $1 per 
thousand cubic feet of natural gas, or roughly half of the wellhead 
price of gas. Coalbed methane (natural gas) and gas from tight 
formations currently account for most of the credit. While the credit 
has been effective in stimulating the coalbed methane industry, 
increased domestic production of natural gas tends to discourage imports 
from stable suppliers (in particular, Canada), so there is relatively 
little benefit to U.S. energy security. In addition, there are 
indications that credit-qualified gas displaced some non-qualified 
domestic gas.
  12. Oil and gas exception to passive loss limitation.--Owners of 
working interests in oil and gas properties are exempt from the 
``passive income'' limitations. As a result, the working interest-
holder, who manages on behalf of himself and all other owners the 
development of wells and incurs all the costs of their operation, may 
aggregate negative taxable income from such interests with his income 
from all other sources.
  13. Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal.--Sales of certain 
coal under royalty contracts can be treated as capital gains rather than 
ordinary income.
  14. Energy facility bonds.--Interest earned on state and local bonds 
used to finance construction of certain energy facilities is tax-exempt. 
These bonds are generally subject to the state private-activity bond 
annual volume cap.
  15. Enhanced oil recovery credit.--A credit is provided equal to 15 
percent of the taxpayer's costs for tertiary oil recovery on U.S. 
projects. Qualifying costs include tertiary injectant expenses, 
intangible drilling and development costs on a qualified enhanced oil 
recovery project, and amounts incurred for tangible depreciable 
property.
  16. New technology credits.--A credit of 10 percent is available for 
investment in solar and geothermal energy facilities. In addition, a 
credit of 1.5 cents is provided per kilowatt hour of electricity 
produced from renewable resources such as wind and biomass. The 
renewable resources credit applies only to electricity produced by a 
facility placed in service before July 1, 1999.
  17. Alcohol fuel credits.--An income tax credit is provided for 
ethanol that is derived from renewable sources and used as fuel. The 
credit equals 54 cents per gallon in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The 
Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century made the credit 53 cents 
per gallon in 2001 and 2002; 52 cents per gallon in 2003 and 2004; and 
51 cents per gallon in 2005, 2006, and 2007. To the extent that ethanol 
is mixed with taxable motor fuel to create gasohol, taxpayers may claim 
an exemption of the federal excise tax rather than the income tax 
credit. In addition, small ethanol producers are eligible for a separate 
10 cents per gallon credit.
  18. Credit and deduction for clean-fuel vehicles and property.--A tax 
credit of 10 percent (not to exceed $4,000) is provided for purchasers 
of electric vehicles. Purchasers of other clean-fuel burning vehicles 
and owners of clean-fuel refueling property may deduct part of their 
expenditures. The credit and deduction are phased out from 2002 through 
2005.
  19. Exclusion of utility conservation subsidies.--Subsidies by public 
utilities for non-business customer expenditures on energy conservation 
measures are excluded from the gross income of the customer.

                    Natural Resources and Environment

  20. Exploration and development costs.--Certain capital outlays 
associated with exploration and development of nonfuel minerals may be 
expensed rather than depreciated over the life of the asset.
  21. Percentage depletion.--Most nonfuel mineral extractors may use 
percentage depletion rather than cost depletion, with percentage 
depletion rates ranging from 22 percent for sulphur to 5 percent for 
sand and gravel.
  22. Sewage, water, and hazardous waste bonds.--Interest earned on 
state and local bonds used to finance the construction of sewage, water, 
or hazardous waste facilities is tax-exempt. These bonds are generally 
subject to the state private-activity bond annual volume cap.
  23. Capital gains treatment of certain timber.--Certain timber sold 
under a royalty contract can be treated as capital gains rather than 
ordinary income.
  24. Expensing multiperiod timber growing costs.--Most of the 
production costs of growing timber may be expensed rather than 
capitalized and deducted when the timber is sold. In most other 
industries, these

[[Page 127]]

costs are capitalized under the uniform capitalization rules.
  25. Credit and seven-year amortization for reforestation.--A 10-
percent investment tax credit is allowed for up to $10,000 invested 
annually to clear land and plant trees for the production of timber. Up 
to $10,000 in forestation investment may also be amortized over a seven-
year period rather than capitalized and deducted when the trees are sold 
or harvested. The amount of forestation investment that is amortizable 
is not reduced by any of the allowable investment credit.
  26. Historic preservation.--Expenditures to preserve and restore 
historic structures qualify for a 20-percent investment credit, but the 
depreciable basis must be reduced by the full amount of the credit 
taken.

                               Agriculture

  27. Expensing certain capital outlays.--Farmers, except for certain 
agricultural corporations and partnerships, are allowed to expense 
certain expenditures for feed and fertilizer, as well as for soil and 
water conservation measures. Expensing is allowed, even though these 
expenditures are for inventories held beyond the end of the year, or for 
capital improvements that would otherwise be capitalized.
  28. Expensing multiperiod livestock and crop production costs.--The 
production of livestock and crops with a production period of less than 
two years is exempt from the uniform cost capitalization rules. Farmers 
establishing orchards, constructing farm facilities for their own use, 
or producing any goods for sale with a production period of two years or 
more may elect not to capitalize costs. If they do, they must apply 
straight-line depreciation to all depreciable property they use in 
farming.
  29. Loans forgiven solvent farmers.--Farmers are forgiven the tax 
liability on certain forgiven debt. Normally, the debtor must include 
the amount of loan forgiveness as income or reduce his recoverable basis 
in the property to which the loan relates. If the debtor elects to 
reduce basis and the amount of forgiveness exceeds his basis in the 
property, the excess forgiveness is taxable. For insolvent (bankrupt) 
debtors, however, the amount of loan forgiveness never results in an 
income tax liability.\9\ Farmers with forgiven debt are considered 
insolvent for tax purposes, and thus qualify for income tax forgiveness.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \9\ The insolvent taxpayer's carryover losses and unused credits are 
extinguished first, and then his basis in assets reduced to no less than 
amounts still owed creditors. Finally, the remainder of the forgiven 
debt is excluded from tax.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  30. Capital gains treatment of certain income.--Certain agricultural 
income, such as unharvested crops, can be treated as capital gains 
rather than ordinary income.
  31. Income averaging for farmers.--The Tax and Trade Relief Extension 
Act of 1998 permanently extended the provision that allows taxpayers to 
lower their tax liability by averaging, over the prior three-year 
period, their taxable income from farming. Without extension, the 
provision generally would have expired on December 31, 2000.
  32. Deferral of gain on sales of farm refiners.--A taxpayer who sells 
stock in a farm refiner to a farmers' cooperative can defer recognition 
of gain if the taxpayer reinvests the proceeds in qualified replacement 
property. This provision was originally enacted in the Taxpayer Relief 
Act of 1997, was canceled by a line-item veto by the President, and was 
restored by the Supreme Court decision declaring the line-item veto 
unconstitutional.

                          Commerce and Housing

  This category includes a number of tax expenditure provisions that 
also affect economic activity in other functional categories. For 
example, provisions related to investment, such as accelerated 
depreciation, could be classified under the energy, natural resources 
and environment, agriculture, or transportation categories.
  33. Credit union income.--The earnings of credit unions not 
distributed to members as interest or dividends are exempt from income 
tax.
  34. Bad debt reserves.--Small (less than $500 million in assets) 
commercial banks, mutual savings banks, and savings and loan 
associations may deduct additions to bad debt reserves in excess of 
actually experienced losses.
  35. Deferral of income on life insurance and annuity contracts.--
Favorable tax treatment is provided for investment income within 
qualified life insurance and annuity contracts. Investment income earned 
on qualified life insurance contracts held until death is permanently 
exempt from income tax. Investment income distributed prior to the death 
of the insured is tax-deferred, if not tax-exempt. Investment income 
earned on annuities is treated less favorably than income earned on life 
insurance contracts, but it benefits from tax deferral without annual 
contribution or income limits generally applicable to other tax-favored 
retirement income plans.
  36. Small property and casualty insurance companies.-- Insurance 
companies that have annual net premium incomes of less than $350,000 are 
exempt from tax; those with $350,000 to $2,100,000 of net premium 
incomes may elect to pay tax only on the income earned by their 
investment portfolio.
  37. Insurance companies owned by exempt organizations.--Generally, the 
income generated by life and property and casualty insurance companies 
is subject to tax, albeit by special rules. Insurance operations 
conducted by such exempt organizations as fraternal societies and 
voluntary employee benefit associations, however, are exempt from tax.
  38. Small life insurance company deduction.--Small life insurance 
companies (gross assets of less than $500 million) can deduct 60 percent 
of the first $3 million of otherwise taxable income. The deduction 
phases out for otherwise taxable income between $3 million and $15 
million.

[[Page 128]]

  39. Mortgage housing bonds.--Interest earned on state and local bonds 
used to finance homes purchased by first-time, low-to-moderate-income 
buyers is tax-exempt. The amount of state and local tax-exempt bonds 
that can be issued to finance such private activity is limited. The 
combined volume cap for mortgage housing bonds, rental housing bonds, 
student loan bonds, and industrial development bonds is $50 per capita 
($150 million minimum) per state. The Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act 
of 1998 increased the volume cap to $55 per capita ($165 million 
minimum) in 2003 and ratably annually thereafter until the cap reaches 
$75 per capita ($225 million minimum) in 2007. States may issue mortgage 
credit certificates (MCCs) in lieu of mortgage revenue bonds. MCCs 
entitle home buyers to income tax credits for a specified percentage of 
interest on qualified mortgages. The total amount of MCCs issued by a 
state cannot exceed 25 percent of its annual ceiling for mortgage-
revenue bonds.
  40. Rental housing bonds.--Interest earned on state and local 
government bonds used to finance multifamily rental housing projects is 
tax-exempt. At least 20 percent (15 percent in targeted areas) of the 
units must be reserved for families whose income does not exceed 50 
percent of the area's median income; or 40 percent for families with 
incomes of no more than 60 percent of the area median income. Other tax-
exempt bonds for multifamily rental projects are generally issued with 
the requirement that all tenants must be low or moderate income 
families. Rental housing bonds are subject to the volume cap discussed 
in the mortgage housing bond section above.
  41. Interest on owner-occupied homes.--Owner-occupants of homes may 
deduct mortgage interest on their primary and secondary residences as 
itemized nonbusiness deductions. The mortgage interest deduction is 
limited to interest on debt no greater than the owner's basis in the 
residence and, for debt incurred after October 13, 1987, it is limited 
to no more than $1 million. Interest on up to $100,000 of other debt 
secured by a lien on a principal or second residence is also deductible, 
irrespective of the purpose of borrowing, provided the debt does not 
exceed the fair market value of the residence. Mortgage interest 
deductions on personal residences are tax expenditures because the 
taxpayers are not required to report the value of owner-occupied housing 
services as gross income.
  42. Taxes on owner-occupied homes.--Owner-occupants of homes may 
deduct property taxes on their primary and secondary residences even 
though they are not required to report the value of owner-occupied 
housing services as gross income.
  43. Installment sales.--Dealers in real and personal property (i.e., 
sellers that regularly hold property for sale or resale) cannot defer 
taxable income from installment sales until the receipt of the loan 
repayment. Nondealers (i.e., sellers of real property used in their 
business) are required to pay interest on deferred taxes attributable to 
their total installment obligations in excess of $5 million. Only 
properties with sales prices exceeding $150,000 are includable in the 
total. The payment of a market rate of interest eliminates the benefit 
of the tax deferral. The tax exemption for nondealers with total 
installment obligations of less than $5,000,000 is, therefore, a tax 
expenditure.
  44. Capital gains exclusion on home sales.--A homeowner can exclude 
from tax up to $500,000 ($250,000 for singles) of the capital gains from 
the sale of a principal residence. The exclusion may not be used more 
than once every two years.
  45. Passive loss real estate exemption.--In general, passive losses 
may not offset income from other sources. Losses up to $25,000 
attributable to certain rental real estate activity, however, are exempt 
from this rule.
  46. Low-income housing credit.--Taxpayers who invest in certain low-
income housing are eligible for a tax credit. The credit rate is set so 
that the present value of the credit is equal to 70 percent for new 
construction and 30 percent for (1) housing receiving other Federal 
benefits (such as tax-exempt bond financing), or (2) substantially 
rehabilitated existing housing. The credit is allowed in equal amounts 
over 10 years. State agencies determine who receives the credit; states 
are limited in the amount of credit they may authorize annually to $1.25 
per resident.
  47. Accelerated depreciation of rental property.--The tax depreciation 
allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, and thus do 
not cause tax expenditures under the reference method. Under the normal 
tax method, however, a 40-year tax life for depreciable real property is 
the norm. Thus, statutory depreciation period for rental property of 
27.5 years is a tax expenditure. In addition, tax expenditures arise 
from pre-1987 tax allowances for rental property.
  48. Cancellation of indebtedness.--Individuals are not required to 
report the cancellation of certain indebtedness as current income. If 
the canceled debt is not reported as current income, however, the basis 
of the underlying property must be reduced by the amount canceled.
  49. Imputed interest rules.--Holders (issuers) of debt instruments are 
generally required to report interest earned (paid) in the period it 
accrues, not when paid. In addition, the amount of interest accrued is 
determined by the actual price paid, not by the stated principal and 
interest stipulated in the instrument.\10\ In general, any debt 
associated with the sale of property worth less than $250,000 is 
excepted from the general interest accounting rules. This general 
$250,000 exception is not a tax expenditure under reference law but is 
under normal law. Exceptions above $250,000 are a tax expenditure under 
reference law; these exceptions include the following: (1) sales of 
personal residences worth more than $250,000, and (2) sales of

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farms and small businesses worth between $250,000 and $1 million.
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  \10\ For example, if a borrower on December 31, 1997 issues a promise 
to pay $1,000 plus interest at 10 percent on December 30, 1999, for a 
total repayment of $1,100 and accepts $900 from a lender in exchange for 
the contract, the rules require that both parties (a) recognize that 
$900 is the amount lent, so that the effective loan interest rate is not 
the stated 10 percent but is 22.2 percent, and (b) report $200 as 
interest paid or received in 1999.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  50. Capital gains (other than agriculture, timber, iron ore, and 
coal).--Capital gains on assets held for more than 1 year are taxed at a 
lower rate than ordinary income. The lower rate on capital gains is 
considered a tax expenditure under the normal tax method but not under 
the reference law method.
  For assets held for more than 1 year and sold after December 31, 1997, 
the top tax rate is 20 percent (10 percent for taxpayers who would 
otherwise pay capital gains tax at the 15-percent rate). The IRS 
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 eliminated the 28-percent capital 
gains rate by lowering the holding period for the 20-percent capital 
gains rate from 15 years to 1 year.
  In addition, for assets acquired after December 31, 2000, the maximum 
capital gains tax rates for assets held more than 5 years are 8 percent 
and 18 percent (rather than 10 percent and 20 percent). On January 1, 
2001, taxpayers may mark-to-market existing assets to start the 5-year 
holding period.
  51. Capital gains exclusion for small business stock.--An exclusion of 
50 percent is provided for capital gains from qualified small business 
stock held by individuals for more than 5 years. A qualified small 
business is a corporation whose gross assets do not exceed $50 million 
as of the date of issuance of the stock.
  52. Step-up in basis of capital gains at death.--Capital gains on 
assets held at the owner's death are not subject to capital gains taxes. 
The cost basis of the appreciated assets is adjusted upward to the 
market value at the owner's date of death. The step-up in the heir's 
cost basis means that, in effect, the tax on the capital gain is 
forgiven.
  53. Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts.--When a gift is made, 
the transferred property carries to the donee the donor's basis--the 
cost that was incurred when the property was first acquired. The 
carryover of the donor's basis allows a continued deferral of unrealized 
capital gains.
  54. Ordinary income treatment of losses from sale of small business 
corporate stock shares.--Up to $100,000 in losses from the sale of small 
business corporate stock (capitalization less than $1 million) may be 
treated as ordinary losses. Such losses would, thus, not be subject to 
the $3,000 annual capital loss write-off limit.
  55. Accelerated depreciation of non-rental-housing buildings.--The tax 
depreciation allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, 
and thus do not cause tax expenditures under reference law. Under normal 
law, however, a 40-year life for non-rental-housing buildings is the 
norm. Thus, the 39-year depreciation period for property placed in 
service after February 25, 1993, the 31.5-year depreciation period for 
property placed in service from 1987 to February 25, 1993, and the pre-
1987 depreciation periods create a tax expenditure.
  56. Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment.--The tax 
depreciation allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, 
and thus do not cause tax expenditures under reference law. Statutory 
depreciation of machinery and equipment, however, is accelerated 
somewhat relative to the normal tax baseline, creating a tax 
expenditure.
  57. Expensing of certain small investments.--In 1998, qualifying 
investments in tangible property up to $18,500 can be expensed rather 
than depreciated over time. (The expensing limit increases annually 
until 2003, when it reaches $25,000). To the extent that qualifying 
investment during the year exceeds $200,000, the amount eligible for 
expensing is decreased. In 1998, the amount expensed is completely 
phased out when qualifying investments exceed $218,500.
  58. Business start-up costs.--When taxpayers enter into a new 
business, certain start-up expenses, such as the cost of legal services, 
are normally incurred. Taxpayers may elect to amortize these outlays 
over 60 months even though they are similar to other payments made for 
nondepreciable intangible assets that are not recoverable until the 
business is sold. The normal tax method treats this amortization as a 
tax expenditure; the reference tax method does not.
  59. Graduated corporation income tax rate schedule.--The corporate 
income tax schedule is graduated, with rates of 15 percent on the first 
$50,000 of taxable income, 25 percent on the next $25,000, and 34 
percent on the next $9.925 million. Compared with a flat 34-percent 
rate, the lower rates provide an $11,750 reduction in tax liability for 
corporations with taxable income of $10 million. This benefit is 
recaptured for corporations with taxable incomes exceeding $100,000 by a 
5-percent additional tax on corporate incomes in excess of $100,000, but 
less than $335,000.
  The corporate tax rate is 35 percent on income over $10 million. 
Compared with a flat 35-percent tax rate, the 34-percent rate provides a 
$100,000 reduction in tax liability for corporations with taxable 
incomes of $10 million. This benefit is recaptured for corporations with 
taxable incomes exceeding $15 million by a 3-percent additional tax on 
income over $15 million but less than $18.33 million. Because the 
corporate rate schedule is part of reference tax law, it is not 
considered a tax expenditure under the reference method. A flat 
corporation income tax rate is taken as the baseline under the normal 
tax method; therefore the lower rates is considered a tax expenditure 
under this concept.
  60. Small issue industrial development bonds.--Interest earned on 
small issue industrial development bonds (IDBs) issued by state and 
local governments to finance manufacturing facilities is tax-exempt. 
Depreciable property financed with small issue IDBs must be depreciated, 
however, using the straight-line method. The annual volume of small 
issue IDBs is subject to the unified volume cap discussed in the 
mortgage housing bond section above.

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                             Transportation

  61. Deferral of tax on U.S. shipping companies.--Certain companies 
that operate U.S. flag vessels can defer income taxes on that portion of 
their income used for shipping purposes, primarily construction, 
modernization and major repairs to ships, and repayment of loans to 
finance these investments. Once indefinite, the deferral has been 
limited to 25 years since January 1, 1987.62. Exclusion of reimbursed 
employee parking expenses.--Parking at or near an employer's business 
premises that is paid for by the employer is excludable from the income 
of the employee. In 1998, the maximum amount of the parking exclusion is 
$175 (indexed, except in 1999) per month. The tax expenditure estimate 
does not include parking at facilities owned by the employer.
  63. Exclusion of employer-provided transit passes.--Transit passes, 
tokens, and fare cards provided by an employer to defray an employee's 
commuting costs are excludable from the employee's income if the total 
value of the benefit does not exceed the transit limit. In 1998, the 
limit is $65 (indexed, except in 1999) per month.

                   Community and Regional Development

  64. Rehabilitation of structures.--A 10-percent investment tax credit 
is available for the rehabilitation of buildings that are used for 
business or productive activities and that were erected before 1936 for 
other than residential purposes. The taxpayer's recoverable basis must 
be reduced by the amount of the credit.
  65. Airport, dock, and similar facility bonds.--Interest earned on 
state and local bonds issued to finance high-speed rail facilities and 
government-owned airports, docks, wharves, and sport and convention 
facilities is tax-exempt. These bonds are not subject to a volume cap.
  66. Exemption of income of mutuals and cooperatives.--The incomes of 
mutual and cooperative telephone and electric companies are exempt from 
tax if at least 85 percent of their revenues are derived from patron 
service charges.
  67. Empowerment zones and enterprise communities.--Qualifying 
businesses in designated economically depressed areas can receive tax 
benefits such as an employer wage credit, increased expensing of 
investment in equipment, special tax-exempt financing, and accelerated 
depreciation. A tax credit for contributions to certain community 
development corporations can also be available. In addition, certain 
first-time buyers of a principal residence in the District of Columbia 
can receive a tax credit, and investors in certain D.C. property can 
receive a capital gains break.
  68. Expensing of environmental remediation costs.-- Taxpayers who 
clean up hazardous substances at a qualified site may expense the clean-
up costs, rather than capitalize the costs, even though the expenses 
will generally increase the value of the property significantly or 
appreciably prolong the life of the property. he expensing only applies 
to clean-up costs incurred after August 5, 1997 and before January 1, 
2001.

          Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services

  69. Scholarship and fellowship income.--Scholarships and fellowships 
are excluded from taxable income to the extent they pay for tuition and 
course-related expenses of the grantee. Similarly, tuition reductions 
for employees of educational institutions and their families are not 
included in taxable income. From an economic point of view, scholarships 
and fellowships are either gifts not conditioned on the performance of 
services, or they are rebates of educational costs. Thus, under the 
reference law method, this exclusion is not a tax expenditure because 
this method does not include either gifts or price reductions in a 
taxpayer's gross income. The exclusion, however, is considered a tax 
expenditure under the normal tax method, which includes gift-like 
transfers of government funds in gross income (many scholarships are 
derived directly or indirectly from government funding).
  70. HOPE tax credit.-- The non-refundable HOPE tax credit allows a 
credit for 100 percent of an eligible student's first $1,000 of tuition 
and fees and 50 percent of the next $1,000 of tuition and fees. The 
credit only covers tuition and fees paid during the first two years of a 
student's post-secondary education. The credit is phased out ratably for 
taxpayers with modified AGI between $80,000 and $100,000 ($40,000 and 
$50,000 for singles).
  71. Lifetime Learning tax credit.--The non-refundable Lifetime 
Learning tax credit allows a credit for 20 percent of an eligible 
student's tuition and fees. For tuition and fees paid between July 1, 
1998 and December 31, 2002, the maximum credit per return is $1,000. For 
tuition and fees paid after December 31, 2002, the maximum credit per 
return is $2,000. The credit is phased out ratably for taxpayers with 
modified AGI between $80,000 and $100,000 ($40,000 and $50,000 for 
singles). The credit applies to both undergraduate and graduate 
students.
  72. Education Individual Retirement Accounts.--Contributions to an 
education IRA are not tax-deductible. Investment income earned by 
education IRAs is not taxed when earned, and investment income from an 
education IRA is tax-exempt when withdrawn to pay for a student's 
tuition and fees. The maximum contribution to an education IRA is $500 
per year per beneficiary. The maximum contribution is phased down 
ratably for taxpayers with modified AGI between $150,000 and $160,000 
($95,000 and $110,000 for singles). Contributions may not be made to an 
education IRA in any year in which a contribution has been made to a 
state tuition plan for the same beneficiary.
  73. Student-loan interest.--Taxpayers may claim an above-the-line 
deduction of up to $2,500 ($1,000 in 1998, $1,500 in 1999, and $2,000 in 
2000) on interest paid on an education loan. Interest may only be 
deducted for the first five years in which interest pay

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ments are required. The maximum deduction is phased down ratably for 
taxpayers with modified AGI between $60,000 and $75,000 ($40,000 and 
$55,000 for singles). Only interest paid and due after December 31, 1997 
may be deducted.
  74. State prepaid tuition plans.--Some states have adopted prepaid 
tuition plans and prepaid room and board plans, which allow persons to 
pay in advance for college expenses for designated beneficiaries. Taxes 
on the earnings from these plans are paid by the beneficiaries and are 
deferred until the tuition is actually paid.
  75. Student-loan bonds.--Interest earned on state and local bonds 
issued to finance student loans is tax-exempt. The volume of all such 
private activity bonds that each state may issue annually is limited.
  76. Bonds for private nonprofit educational institutions.--Interest 
earned on state and local government bonds issued to finance the 
construction of facilities used by private nonprofit educational 
institutions is not taxed. The aggregate volume of all such private 
activity bonds that each state may issue during any calendar year is 
limited.
  77. Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.--Financial institutions 
that own zone academy bonds receive a non-refundable tax credit rather 
than interest. The credit is included in gross income. Proceeds from 
zone academy bonds may only be use to improve impoverished schools. The 
total amount of zone academy bonds that may be issued is limited to $800 
million; no bonds may be issued before January 1, 1998.
  78. U.S. savings bonds for education.--Interest earned on U.S. savings 
bonds issued after December 31, 1989 is tax-exempt if the bonds are 
transferred to an educational institution to pay for educational 
expenses. The tax exemption is phased out for taxpayers with AGI between 
$78,350 and $108,350 ($52,250 and $67,250 for singles) in 1998.
  79. Dependent students age 19 or older.--Taxpayers may claim personal 
exemptions for dependent children age 19 or over who (1) receive 
parental support payments of $1,000 or more per year, (2) are full-time 
students, and (3) do not claim a personal exemption on their own tax 
returns.
  80. Child credit.--Taxpayers with children under age 17 can qualify 
for a $500 child credit beginning January 1, 1999 ($400 in 1998). The 
credit is phased out for taxpayers at the rate of $50 per $1,000 of 
modified AGI above $110,000 ($75,000 for singles). The child credit is 
refundable for taxpayers with three or more children.
  81. Charitable contributions to educational institutions.--Taxpayers 
may deduct contributions to nonprofit educational institutions. 
Taxpayers who donate capital assets to educational institutions can 
deduct the assets' current value without being taxed on any appreciation 
in value. An individual's total charitable contribution generally may 
not exceed 50 percent of adjusted gross income; a corporation's total 
charitable contributions generally may not exceed 10 percent of pre-tax 
income.
  82. Employer-provided educational assistance.--Employer-provided 
educational assistance is excluded from an employee's gross income even 
though the employer's costs for this assistance are a deductible 
business expense. This exclusion applies only to non-graduate courses 
beginning before July 1, 2000.
  83. Work opportunity tax credit.--Employers can claim a tax credit for 
qualified wages paid to individuals who begin work after September 30, 
1996 and before July 1, 1999 and who are certified as members of various 
targeted groups. The Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998 extended 
the expiration date from July 1, 1998 to July 1, 1999. For employees 
hired before October 1, 1997, the amount of the credit that can be 
claimed is 35 percent of the first $6,000 paid during the first year of 
employment. For employees hired after September 30, 1997, the credit is 
25 percent for employment of less than 400 hours and 40 percent for 
employment of 400 hours or more. Employers must reduce their deduction 
for wages paid by the amount of the credit claimed.
  84. Welfare-to-work tax credit.--An employer is eligible for a tax 
credit on the first $20,000 of eligible wages paid to qualified long-
term family assistance recipients during the first two years of 
employment. The credit is 35 percent of the first $10,000 of wages in 
the first year of employment and 50 percent of the first $10,000 of 
wages in the second year of employment. The maximum credit is $8,500 per 
employee. The credit applies to wages paid to employees who are hired 
after December 31, 1997 and before July 1, 1999. The Tax and Trade 
Relief Extension Act of 1998 extended the expiration date from May 1, 
1999 to July 1, 1999.
  85. Employer-provided child care.--Employer-provided child care is 
excluded from an employee's gross income even though the employer's 
costs for the child care are a deductible business expense.
  86. Adoption credit and exclusion.--Taxpayers can receive a 
nonrefundable tax credit for qualified adoption expenses. The maximum 
credit is $5,000 per child ($6,000 for special needs adoptions, except 
foreign adoptions). The credit is phased-out ratably for taxpayers with 
modified AGI between $75,000 and $115,000. Unused credits may be carried 
forward. In lieu of the tax credit, taxpayers may exclude qualified 
adoption expenses from income, subject to the same maximum amounts and 
phase-out as the credit. The non-special needs adoption assistance and 
foreign special needs assistance expire on December 31, 2001.
  87. Employer-provided meals and lodging.--Employer-provided meals and 
lodging are excluded from an employee's gross income even though the 
employer's costs for these items are a deductible business expense.
  88. Child and dependent care expenses.--Married couples with child and 
dependent care expenses may claim a tax credit when one spouse works 
full time and the other works at least part time or goes to school. The 
credit may also be claimed by divorced or separated

[[Page 132]]

parents who have custody of children, and by single parents. 
Expenditures up to a maximum $2,400 for one dependent and $4,800 for two 
or more dependents are eligible for the credit. The credit is equal to 
30 percent of qualified expenditures for taxpayers with incomes of 
$10,000 or less. The credit is reduced to a minimum of 20 percent by one 
percentage point for each $2,000 of income between $10,000 and $28,000.
  89. Disabled access expenditure credit.--Small businesses (less than 
$1 million in gross receipts or fewer than 31 full-time employees) can 
claim a 50-percent credit for expenditures in excess of $250 to remove 
access barriers for disabled persons. The credit is limited to $5,000.
  90. Expensing costs of removing architectural barriers.--Taxpayers can 
expense (up to $15,000 annually) the cost of removing architectural 
barriers to the handicapped rather than depreciate the cost over the 
useful life of the asset.
  91. Charitable contributions, other than education and health.--
Taxpayers may deduct contributions to charitable, religious, and certain 
other nonprofit organizations. Taxpayers who donate capital assets to 
charitable organizations can deduct the assets' current value without 
being taxed on any appreciation in value. An individual's total 
charitable contribution generally may not exceed 50 percent of adjusted 
gross income; a corporation's total charitable contributions generally 
may not exceed 10 percent of pre-tax income.
  92. Foster care payments.--Foster parents provide a home and care for 
children who are wards of the State, under contract with the State. 
Compensation received for this service is excluded from the gross 
incomes of foster parents; the expenses they incur are nondeductible.
  93. Parsonage allowances.--The value of a minister's housing allowance 
and the rental value of parsonages are not included in a minister's 
taxable income.

                                 Health

  94. Employer-paid medical insurance and expenses.--Employer-paid 
health insurance premiums and other medical expenses (including long-
term care) are deducted as a business expense by employers, but they are 
not included in employee gross income. The self-employed also may deduct 
part of their family health insurance premiums.
  95. Self-employed medical insurance premiums.--Self-employed taxpayers 
may deduct a percentage of their family health insurance premiums. 
Taxpayers without self-employment income are not eligible for the 
special percentage deduction. The deductible percentage is 45 percent in 
1998, 60 percent in 1999 through 2001, 70 percent in 2002, and 100 
percent in 2003 and thereafter.
  96. Workers' compensation insurance premiums.--Workers' compensation 
insurance premiums are paid by employers and deducted as a business 
expense, but the premiums are not included in employee gross income.
  97. Medical savings accounts.--Some employees may deduct annual 
contributions to a medical savings account (MSA); employer contributions 
to MSAs (except those made through cafeteria plans) for qualified 
employees are also excluded from income. An employee may contribute to 
an MSA in a given year only if the employer does not contribute to the 
MSA in that year. MSAs are only available to self-employed individuals 
or employees covered under an employer-sponsored high deductible health 
plan of a small employer. The maximum annual MSA contribution is 75 
percent of the deductible under the high deductible plan for family 
coverage (65 percent for individual coverage). Earnings from MSAs are 
excluded from taxable income. Distributions from an MSA for medical 
expenses are not taxable. The number of taxpayers who may benefit 
annually from MSAs is generally limited to 750,000. No new MSAs may be 
established after December 31, 2000.
  98. Medical care expenses.--Personal expenditures for medical care 
(including the costs of prescription drugs) exceeding 7.5 percent of the 
taxpayer's adjusted gross income are deductible.
  99. Hospital construction bonds.--Interest earned on state and local 
government debt issued to finance hospital construction is excluded from 
income subject to tax.
  100. Charitable contributions to health institutions.--Individuals and 
corporations may deduct contributions to nonprofit health institutions. 
Tax expenditures resulting from the deductibility of contributions to 
other charitable institutions are listed under the education, training, 
employment, and social services function.
  101. Orphan drugs.--Drug firms can claim a tax credit of 50 percent of 
the costs for clinical testing required by the Food and Drug 
Administration for drugs that treat rare physical conditions or rare 
diseases.
  102. Blue Cross and Blue Shield.--Blue Cross and Blue Shield health 
insurance providers in existence on August 16, 1986 and certain other 
nonprofit health insurers are provided exceptions from otherwise 
applicable insurance company income tax accounting rules that 
substantially reduce (or even eliminate) their tax liabilities.

                             Income Security

  103. Railroad retirement benefits.--Railroad retirement benefits are 
not generally subject to the income tax unless the recipient's gross 
income reaches a certain threshold. The threshold is discussed more 
fully under the social security function.
  104. Workers' compensation benefits.--Workers& compensation provides 
payments to disabled workers. These benefits, although income to the 
recipients, are not subject to the income tax.
  Treasury reviewed the Federal income tax exemption for workers' 
compensation wage replacement benefits as one of its pilot analyses of 
tax expenditures. Workers' compensation programs, with the principal 
exception of the program covering Federal employees, are

[[Page 133]]

State programs that do not have to conform to any national criteria. 
While the legislative history does not explain the goal of the tax 
exemption, the exemption has the effect of reducing taxes on families 
with unexpected losses of earnings from work-related injuries or death. 
Because the tax exemption may have been considered in setting the levels 
of benefits mandated by State laws, the net benefit of the tax exemption 
to recipients is uncertain.
  105. Public assistance benefits.--Public assistance benefits are 
excluded from tax. The normal tax method considers cash transfers from 
the government as taxable and, thus, treats the exclusion for public 
assistance benefits as a tax expenditure.
  106. Special benefits for disabled coal miners.--Disability payments 
to former coal miners out of the Black Lung Trust Fund, although income 
to the recipient, are not subject to the income tax.
  107. Military disability pensions.--Most of the military pension 
income received by current disabled retired veterans is excluded from 
their income subject to tax.
  108. Employer-provided pension contributions and earnings.--Certain 
employer contributions to pension plans are excluded from an employee's 
gross income even though the employer can deduct the contributions. In 
addition, the tax on the investment income earned by the pension plans 
is deferred until the money is withdrawn.
  109. 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts.--Individual 
taxpayers can take advantage of several different tax-preferenced 
retirement plans: deductible IRAs, non-deductible IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 
401(k) plans (and 401(k)-type plans like 403(b) plans and the 
government's Thrift Savings Plan).
  In 1998, an employee could exclude up to $10,000 (indexed) of wages 
from AGI under a qualified arrangement with an employer's 401(k). 
Employees can annually contribute to a deductible IRA up to $2,000 (or 
100 percent of compensation, if less) or $4,000 on a joint return with 
only one working spouse if: (a) neither the individual nor spouse is an 
active participant in an employer-provided retirement plan, or (b) their 
AGI is below $40,000 ($25,000 for singles). The IRA deduction is phased 
out for taxpayers with AGI between $50,000 and $60,000 ($30,000 and 
$40,000 for singles). The phase-out range increases annually until it 
reaches $80,000 to $100,000 in 2007 ($50,000 to $60,000 for singles). 
Taxpayers whose AGI is above the start of the IRA phase-out range or who 
are active participants in an employer-provided retirement plan can 
contribute to a non-deductible IRA. The tax on the investment income 
earned by 401(k) plans, non-deductible IRAs, and deductible IRAs is 
deferred until the money is withdrawn.
  An employed taxpayer can make a non-deductible contribution of up to 
$2,000 (a non-employed spouse can also contribute up to $2,000 if a 
joint return is filed) to a Roth IRA. Investment income of a Roth IRA is 
not taxed when earned. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA are tax free if (1) 
the Roth IRA was opened at least 5 years before the withdrawal, and (2) 
the taxpayer either (a) is at least 59-\1/2\, (b) dies, (c) is disabled, 
or (d) purchases a first-time house. The maximum contribution to a Roth 
IRA is phased out for taxpayers with AGI between $150,000 and $160,000 
($95,000 and $110,000 for singles). Total annual contributions to a 
taxpayer's deductible, non-deductible, and Roth IRAs cannot exceed 
$2,000 ($4,000 for joints).
  110. Keogh plans.--Self-employed individuals can make deductible 
contributions to their own retirement (Keogh) plans equal to 25 percent 
of their income, up to a maximum of $30,000 per year. In addition, the 
tax on the investment income earned by Keogh plans is deferred until the 
money is withdrawn.
  111. Employer-provided life insurance benefits.--Employer-provided 
life insurance benefits are excluded from an employee's gross income 
even though the employer's costs for the insurance are a deductible 
business expense.
  112. Employer-provided accident and disability benefits.--Employer-
provided accident and disability benefits are excluded from an 
employee's gross income even though the employer's costs for the 
benefits are a deductible business expense.
  113. Employer-provided supplementary unemployment benefits.--Employer-
provided supplementary unemployment benefits are excluded from an 
employee's gross income even though the employer's costs for the 
benefits are a deductible business expense.
  114. Employer Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) provisions.--ESOPs are a 
special type of tax-exempt employee benefit plan. Employer-paid 
contributions (the value of stock issued to the ESOP) are deductible by 
the employer as part of employee compensation costs. They are not 
included in the employees' gross income for tax purposes, however, until 
they are paid out as benefits. The following special income tax 
provisions for ESOPs are intended to increase ownership of corporations 
by their employees: (1) annual employer contributions are subject to 
less restrictive limitations; (2) ESOPs may borrow to purchase employer 
stock, guaranteed by their agreement with the employer that the debt 
will be serviced by his payment (deductible by him) of a portion of 
wages (excludable by the employees) to service the loan; (3) employees 
who sell appreciated company stock to the ESOP may defer any taxes due 
until they withdraw benefits; and (4) dividends paid to ESOP-held stock 
are deductible by the employer.
  115. Additional deduction for the blind.--Taxpayers who are blind may 
take an additional $1,000 standard deduction if single, or $800 if 
married.
  116. Additional deduction for the elderly.--Taxpayers who are 65 years 
or older may take an additional $1,000 standard deduction if single, or 
$800 if married.
  117. Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.--Individuals who are 65 
years of age or older, or who are permanently disabled, can take a tax 
credit equal t

[[Page 134]]

o 15 percent of the sum of their earned and retirement income. Income is 
limited to no more than $5,000 for single individuals or married couples 
filing a joint return where only one spouse is 65 years of age or older, 
and up to $7,500 for joint returns where both spouses are 65 years of 
age or older. These limits are reduced by one-half of the taxpayer's 
adjusted gross income over $7,500 for single individuals and $10,000 for 
married couples filing a joint return.
  118. Casualty losses.--Neither the purchase of property nor insurance 
premiums to protect its value are deductible as costs of earning income; 
therefore, reimbursement for insured loss of such property is not 
reportable as a part of gross income. Taxpayers, however, may deduct 
uninsured casualty and theft losses of more than $100 each, but only to 
the extent that total losses during the year exceed 10 percent of AGI.
  119. Earned income tax credit (EITC).--The EITC may be claimed by low 
income workers. For a family with one qualifying child, the credit is 34 
percent of the first $6,680 of earned income in 1998. The credit is 40 
percent of the first $9,390 of income for a family with two or more 
qualifying children. When the taxpayer's income exceeds $12,260, the 
credit is phased out at the rate of 15.98 percent (21.06 percent if two 
or more qualifying children are present). It is completely phased out at 
$26,473 of modified adjusted gross income ($30,095 if two or more 
qualifying children are present).
  The credit may also be claimed by workers who do not have children 
living with them. Qualifying workers must be at least age 25 and may not 
be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's return. The credit is 
not available to workers age 65 or older. In 1997, the credit is 7.65 
percent of the first $4,460 of earned income. When the taxpayer's income 
exceeds $5,570, the credit is phased out at the rate of 7.65 percent. It 
is completely phased out at $10,030 of modified adjusted gross income.
  For workers with or without children, the income level at which the 
credit's phase-outs begin and the maximum amounts of income on which the 
credit can be taken are adjusted for inflation. Earned income tax 
credits in excess of tax liabilities owed through the individual income 
tax system are refundable to individuals. This portion of the credit is 
shown as an outlay, while the amount that offsets tax liabilities is 
shown as a tax expenditure.

                             Social Security

  120. Social Security benefits for retired workers.--Social security 
benefits that exceed the beneficiary's contributions out of taxed income 
are deferred employee compensation and the deferral of tax on that 
compensation is a tax expenditure. These additional retirement benefits 
are paid for partly by employers' contributions that were not included 
in employees' taxable compensation. Portions (reaching as much as 85 
percent) of recipients' social security and tier 1 railroad retirement 
benefits are included in the income tax base, however, if the 
recipient's provisional income exceeds certain base amounts. Provisional 
income is equal to adjusted gross income plus foreign or U.S. possession 
income and tax-exempt interest, and one half of social security and tier 
1 railroad retirement benefits. The tax expenditure is limited to the 
portion of the benefits received by taxpayers who are below the base 
amounts at which 85 percent of the benefits are taxable.
  121. Social Security benefits for the disabled.--Benefit payments from 
the Social Security Trust Fund, for disability and for dependents and 
survivors, are excluded from the beneficiaries' gross incomes.
  122. Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors.--Benefit 
payments from the Social Security Trust Fund for dependents and 
survivors are excluded from the beneficiaries' gross income.
  Veterans Benefits and Services
  123. Veterans death benefits and disability compensation.--All 
compensation due to death or disability paid by the Veterans 
Administration is excluded from taxable income.
  124. Veterans pension payments.--Pension payments made by the Veterans 
Administration are excluded from gross income.
  125. G.I. Bill benefits.--G.I. Bill benefits paid by the Veterans 
Administration are excluded from gross income.
  126. Tax-exempt mortgage bonds for veterans.--Interest earned on 
general obligation bonds issued by State and local governments to 
finance housing for veterans is excluded from taxable income. The 
issuance of such bonds is limited, however, to five pre-existing State 
programs and to amounts based upon previous volume levels for the period 
January 1, 1979 to June 22, 1984. Furthermore, future issues are limited 
to veterans who served on active duty before 1977.

                           General Government

  127. Public purpose State and local bonds.--Interest earned on State 
and local government bonds issued to finance public purpose construction 
(e.g., schools, roads, sewers) is tax-exempt.
  128. Deductibility of certain nonbusiness State and local taxes.--
Taxpayers may deduct State and local income taxes and property taxes 
even though these taxes primarily pay for services that, if purchased 
directly by taxpayers, would not be deductible.
  129. Business income earned in U.S. possessions.--U.S. corporations 
receiving income from investments or businesses located in a U.S. 
possession (e.g., Puerto Rico) can claim a credit against U.S. tax, 
which effectively excludes some of this income from tax. The credit 
expires December 31, 2005.

                                Interest

  130. U.S. savings bonds.--Taxpayers may defer paying tax on interest 
earned on U.S. savings bonds until the bonds are redeemed.

[[Page 135]]

              TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE UNIFIED TRANSFER TAX

  Exceptions to the general terms of the Federal unified transfer tax 
favor particular transferees or dispositions of transferors, similar to 
Federal direct expenditure or loan programs. The transfer tax provisions 
identified as tax expenditures satisfy the reference law criteria for 
inclusion in the tax expenditure budget that were described above. There 
is no generally accepted normal tax baseline for transfer taxes.

                  Unified Transfer Tax Reference Rules

  The reference tax rules for the unified transfer tax from which 
departures represent tax expenditures include:
    Definition of the taxpaying unit. The payment of the tax is 
          the liability of the transferor whether the transfer of cash 
          or property was made by gift or bequest.
    Definition of the tax base. The base for the tax is the 
          transferor's cumulative, taxable lifetime gifts made plus the 
          net estate at death. Gifts in the tax base are all annual 
          transfers in excess of $10,000 to any donee except the donor's 
          spouse. Excluded are, however, payments on behalf of family 
          members' educational and medical expenses, as well as the cost 
          of ceremonial gatherings and celebrations that are not in 
          honor of the donor.
    Property valuation. In general, property is valued at its 
          fair market value at the time it is transferred. This is not 
          necessarily the case in the valuation of property for transfer 
          tax purposes. Executors of estates are provided the option to 
          value assets at the time of the testator's death or up to six 
          months later.
    Tax rate schedule. A single graduated tax rate schedule 
          applies to all taxable transfers. This is reflected in the 
          name of the ``unified transfer tax'' that has replaced the 
          former separate gift and estate taxes. The tax rates vary from 
          18 percent on the first $10,000 of aggregate taxable 
          transfers, to 55 percent on amounts exceeding $3 million. A 
          lifetime credit is provided against the tax in determining the 
          final amount of transfer taxes that are due and payable. For 
          decedents dying in 1998, this credit allows each taxpayer to 
          make a $625,000 tax-free transfer of assets that otherwise 
          would be liable to the unified transfer tax. This figure is 
          scheduled to increase in steps to $1 million in 2005.\11\
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  \11\ An additional tax, at a flat rate of 55 percent, is imposed on 
lifetime, generation-skipping transfers in excess of $1 million. It is 
considered a generation-skipping transfer whenever the transferee is at 
least two generations younger than the transferor, as it would be in the 
case of transfers to grandchildren or great-grandchildren. The liability 
of this tax is on the recipients of the transfer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Time when tax is due and payable. Donors are required to pay 
          the tax annually as gifts are made. The generation-skipping 
          transfer tax is payable by the donees whenever they accede to 
          the gift. The net estate tax liability is due and payable 
          within nine months after the decedent's death. The Internal 
          Revenue Service may grant an extension of up to 10 years for a 
          reasonable cause. Interest is charged on the unpaid tax 
          liability at a rate equal to the cost of Federal short-term 
          borrowing, plus three percentage points.

                      Tax Expenditures by Function

  The estimates of tax expenditures in the Federal unified transfer tax 
for fiscal years 1998-2004 are displayed by functional category in table 
5-6. Outlay equivalent estimates are similar to revenue loss estimates 
for transfer tax expenditures and, therefore, are not shown separately. 
A description of the provisions follows.

                    Natural Resources and Environment

  1. Donations of conservation easements.--Bequests of property and 
easements (in perpetuity) for conservation purposes can be excluded from 
taxable estates. Use of the property and easements must be restricted to 
at least one of the following purposes: outdoor recreation or scenic 
enjoyment for the general public; protection of the natural habitats of 
fish, wildlife, plants, etc.; and preservation of historic land areas 
and structures. Conservation gifts are similarly excluded from the gift 
tax. Up to 40 percent of the value of land subject to certain 
conservation easements may be excluded from taxable estates; the maximum 
amount of the exclusion is $100,000 in 1998 and increases by $100,000 in 
each year through 2002.

                               Agriculture

  2. Special-use valuation of farms.--Up to $750,000 in farmland owned 
and operated by a decedent and/or a member of the family may be valued 
for estate tax purposes on the basis of its ``continued use'' as 
farmland if: (1) the value of the farmland is at least 25 percent of the 
gross estate; (2) the entire value of all farm property is at least 50 
percent of the gross estate; and (3) family heirs to the farm agree to 
continue to operate the property as a farm for at least 10 years. The 
$750,000 limit is indexed at 1998 levels, beginning in 1999.
  3. Tax deferral of closely held farms.--The tax on a decedent's farm 
can be deferred for up to 14 years if the value of the farm is at least 
35 percent of the net estate. For the first 4 years of deferral, no tax 
need be paid. During the last 10 years of deferral, the tax liability 
must be paid in equal annual installments. Throughout the 14 year 
period, interest is charged at a special, favorable rate. For estates of 
decedents dying after December 31, 1997, the applicable interest rates 
are lower and the interest is non-deductible.

                          Commerce and Housing

  4. Special-use valuation of closely-held businesses.--The special-use 
valuation rule available for

[[Page 136]]

family farms is also available for nonfarm family businesses. To be 
eligible for the special-use valuation, the same three conditions 
previously described must be met.
  5. Tax deferral of closely-held businesses.--The tax-deferral rule 
available for family farms is also available for nonfarm family 
businesses. To be eligible for the tax deferral, the value of stock in 
closely-held corporations must exceed 35 percent of the decedent's gross 
estate, less debt and funeral expenses.
  6. Exclusion for family-owned businesses.--Certain family-owned 
businesses that are bequeathed to qualified heirs can be excluded from 
taxable estates. The exclusion generally cannot exceed $1.3 million less 
the value of the unified credit. The exclusion is recaptured if certain 
conditions are not maintained for 10 years.

          Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services

  7. Charitable contributions to educational institutions.--Bequests to 
educational institutions can be deducted from taxable estates.
  8. Charitable contributions, other than education and health.-- 
Bequests to charitable, religious, and certain other nonprofit 
organizations can be deducted from taxable estates.

                                 Health

  9. Charitable contributions to health institutions.--Bequests to 
health institutions can be deducted from taxable estates.

                           General Government

  10. State and local death taxes.--A credit against the federal estate 
tax is allowed for State taxes on bequests. The amount of this credit is 
determined by a rate schedule that reaches a maximum of 16 percent of 
the taxable estate in excess of $60,000.

                                     

                               Table 5-6.  REVENUE LOSS ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE FEDERAL UNIFIED TRANSFER TAX
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
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                                                                                                                                                  2000-
                                     Description                            1998      1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2004
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  .........  Natural Resources and Environment:
1..........    Donations of conservation easements......................         0        10        25        40        55        75        95       290
 
  .........  Agriculture:
2..........    Special use valuation of farm real property..............        80        95       110       115       120       125       135       605
3..........     Tax deferral of closely held farms......................         0         0         0         5         5        10        10        30
 
  .........  Commerce:
4..........     Special use valuation of real property used in closely
                held businesses.........................................         5         5         5         5         5        10        10        35
5..........     Tax deferral of closely held business...................        15         0        10        20        30        50        65       175
6..........     Exclusion for family owned businesses...................         0       490       490       495       525       530       555     2,595
 
  .........  Education, training, employment, and social services:
7..........     Deduction for charitable contributions (education)......     1,115     1,195     1,245     1,305     1,395     1,470     1,560     6,975
8..........     Deduction for charitable contributions (other than
                education and health)...................................     3,295     3,525     3,670     3,850     4,115     4,345     4,605    20,585
 
  .........  Health:
9..........     Deduction for charitable contributions (health).........     1,010     1,080     1,125     1,180     1,260     1,330     1,410     6,305
 
  .........  General government:
10.........    Credit for State death taxes.............................     4,650     4,970     5,175     5,410     5,670     5,965     6,200    28,420
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