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


 
                           5. TAX EXPENDITURES

  The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344) requires that 
a list of ``tax expenditures'' be included in the budget. So-called tax 
expenditures may be defined as provisions of the Federal tax laws with 
exclusions, exemptions, deductions, credits deferrals, or special tax 
rates. Underlying the ``tax expenditure'' concept is the notion that the 
Federal Government would otherwise collect additional revenues but for 
these provisions. It assumes an arbitrary tax base is available to the 
Government in its entirety as a resource to be spent. Because of the 
breadth of this arbitrary tax base, the Administration believes that the 
concept of ``tax expenditure'' is of questionable analytic value. The 
discussion below is based on materials and formats developed and 
included in previous budgets. The Administration intends to reconsider 
this presentation in the future.
  The largest tax expenditures tend to be associated with the individual 
income tax. For example, sizeable deductions and exclusions 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 for the estimated 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.
  Tax expenditures relating to the individual and corporate income taxes 
are considered first in this chapter. They are estimated for fiscal 
years 2000-2006 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 of the chapter on performance measures and economic 
effects presents information related to assessment of the effect of tax 
expenditures on the achievement of program performance goals. This 
section is a complement to the government-wide performance plan required 
by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (see the Budget 
volume, which considers the Federal Government's spending, regulatory, 
and tax policies across functional areas).

                   TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX

                        Tax Expenditure Estimates

   All tax expenditure estimates presented here are based upon tax law 
enacted as of December 31, 2000. Expired or repealed provisions are not 
listed if their revenue effects result only from taxpayer activity 
occurring before fiscal year 2000. 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 
2000-2006 are displayed according to 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 tables.
  Table 5-2 reports the respective portions of the total revenue effects 
that arise under the individual and corporate income taxes. Listing the 
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 breakdowns show the specific tax accounts through which the 
various pro

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visions 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 2002 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

  The estimates shown for individual tax expenditures in Tables 5-1, 5-
2, and 5-3 do not necessarily equal the increase in Federal revenues (or 
the change in the budget balance) that would result from repealing these 
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 activity or of other tax provisions 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 tax 
revenues associated with other provisions. For example, even if behavior 
does not change, repeal of an itemized deduction could increase the 
revenue costs from other deductions because some taxpayers would be 
moved into higher tax brackets. Alternatively, repeal of an itemized 
deduction could lower the revenue cost 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, because 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 effects 
reported in Table 5-2 and do not reflect any possible interactions 
between the individual and corporate income tax receipts. For this 
reason, the estimates 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, because 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. Although 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.

                         Present-Value Estimates

  Discounted present-value estimates of revenue effects 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 effects, net of 
future tax payments, that follow from activities undertaken during 
calendar year 2000 which cause the deferrals or other long-term revenue 
effects. For instance, a pension contribution in 2000 would cause a 
deferral of tax payments on wages in 2000 and on pension earnings on 
this contribution (e.g., interest) in later years. In some future year, 
however, the 2000 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.

[[Page 63]]



                                               Table 5-1.  ESTIMATES OF TOTAL INCOME TAX EXPENDITURES \1\
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Total from corporations and individuals
                                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2005      2006    2002-2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             National Defense
       1       Exclusion of benefits, allowances, and certain pays to       2,140     2,160     2,190     2,210     2,240     2,260     2,290    11,190
                armed forces personnel.................................

             International affairs:
       2       Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens......     2,500     2,680     2,850     3,010     3,180     3,350     3,550    15,940
       3       Exclusion of certain allowances for Federal employees          680       720       750       790       830       870       920     4,160
                abroad.................................................
       4       Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations.......     3,890         0         0         0         0         0         0         0
       5       Extraterritorial income exclusion.......................         0     4,490     4,810     5,150     5,500     5,880     6,290    27,630
       6       Inventory property sales source rules exception.........     2,170     2,280     2,390     2,510     2,630     2,760     2,900    13,190
       7       Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations      6,200     6,600     7,000     7,450     7,900     8,400     8,930    39,680
                (normal tax method)....................................
       8       Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income         1,190     1,290       540         0         0         0         0       540
                earned overseas........................................

             General science, space, and technology:
       9       Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures       1,680     1,650     1,680     1,770     1,880     1,980     2,100     9,410
                (normal tax method)....................................
      10       Credit for increasing research activities...............     1,630     6,050     6,760     5,390     4,710     2,720     1,160    20,740

             Energy:
      11       Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels...        20        70        70       100       110       110       100       490
      12       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels.........       340       340       340       340       340       350       350     1,720
      13       Alternative fuel production credit......................       970       920       860       540       130       130       130     1,790
      14       Exception from passive loss limitation for working              20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
                interests in oil and gas properties....................
      15       Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal............        70        70        80        80        80        90        90       420
      16       Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds..........        90        90        90       100       110       130       140       570
      17       Enhanced oil recovery credit............................       310       370       440       530       630       770       910     3,280
      18       New technology credit...................................        40        60        70        90        90        90        90       430
      19       Alcohol fuel credits \2\................................        20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
      20       Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles        60        60        50        30         0       -30       -50         0
      21       Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided        90        80        80        80        90        90        90       430
                by public utilities....................................

             Natural resources and environment:
      22       Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel         20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
                minerals...............................................
      23       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel              270       280       300       310       320       330       350     1,610
                minerals...............................................
      24       Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and          400       400       410       450       510       560       610     2,540
                hazardous waste facilities.............................
      25       Capital gains treatment of certain timber income........        70        70        80        80        80        90        90       420
      26       Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs...........       570       580       610       630       640       660       680     3,220
      27       Investment credit and seven-year amortization for                0         0         0         0        10        10        10        30
                reforestation expenditures.............................
      28       Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures..       190       200       210       220       240       250       260     1,180

             Agriculture:
      29       Expensing of certain capital outlays....................       160       160       160       170       170       180       180       860
      30       Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs.......       110       110       120       120       120       130       130       620
      31       Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers.........        10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
      32       Capital gains treatment of certain income...............       700       740       780       820       860       900       950     4,310
      33       Income averaging for farmers............................        50        50        50        50        60        60        60       280
      34       Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners...............        10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50

             Commerce and housing:
               Financial institutions and insurance:
      35        Exemption of credit union income.......................     1,550     1,650     1,770     1,890     2,020     2,160     2,280    10,120
      36        Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions.....        70        60        50        30        20        10         0       110
      37        Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings........    13,950    15,170    16,520    17,990    19,610    21,370    23,330    98,820
      38        Special alternative tax on small property and casualty         10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                 insurance companies...................................
      39        Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by         230       240       250       270       280       300       310     1,410
                 tax-exempt organizations..............................
      40        Small life insurance company deduction.................       100       100       100       100       100       100       100       500
               Housing:
      41        Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage              790       800       820       870       990     1,090     1,200     4,970
                 subsidy bonds.........................................
      42        Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds..........       160       160       170       170       200       230       260     1,030
      43        Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied       60,270    63,190    65,750    68,050    70,470    73,100    76,150   353,520
                 homes.................................................
      44        Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-    22,140    23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                 occupied homes........................................
      45        Deferral of income from post 1987 installment sales....     1,010     1,035     1,050     1,070     1,090     1,110     1,130     5,450
      46        Capital gains exclusion on home sales..................    18,540    19,095    19,670    20,260    20,870    21,490    22,140   104,430
      47        Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental     4,720     4,450     4,220     4,000     3,790     3,600     3,410    19,020
                 loss..................................................
      48        Credit for low-income housing investments..............     3,210     3,310     3,460     3,600     3,790     3,940     4,080    18,870
      49        Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax      4,740     5,140     5,520     5,830     6,040     6,140     6,210    29,740
                 method)...............................................
               Commerce:
      50        Cancellation of indebtedness...........................        30        20        10        10        10        20        20        70
      51        Exceptions from imputed interest rules.................        80        80        80        80        80        80        80       400
      52        Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore,       40,520    41,720    42,950    44,220    45,530    46,870    48,260   227,830
                 and coal) (normal tax method).........................
      53        Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock.....        40        70        90       120       160       200       250       820
      54        Step-up basis of capital gains at death................    27,090    28,240    29,370    30,540    31,760    33,030    34,360   159,060
      55        Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts..............       180       190       200       210       220       230       240     1,100

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      56        Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business          35        40        40        40        40        40        40       200
                 corporation stock sale................................
      57        Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental     3,260     3,170     3,290     2,880     2,860     2,730     3,220    14,980
                 housing (normal tax method)...........................
      58        Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment        30,660    33,050    35,400    37,680    39,760    41,530    43,330   197,700
                 (normal tax method)...................................
      59        Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax          2,100     2,570     2,690     2,670     2,570     2,480     2,510    12,920
                 method)...............................................
      60        Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method).....       200       200       200       210       220       220       220     1,070
      61        Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax           6,480     6,700     7,140     7,460     7,540     7,760     7,960    37,860
                 method)...............................................
      62        Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds.............       290       300       310       330       360       410       450     1,860

             Transportation:
      63       Deferral of tax on shipping companies...................        20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
      64       Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses.......     1,880     1,980     2,090     2,190     2,300     2,420     2,550    11,550
      65       Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes..........       190       220       260       310       350       400       440     1,760

             Community and regional development:
      66       Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures              30        30        30        30        30        30        30       150
                (other than historic)..................................
      67       Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar           620       630       640       690       780       850       950     3,910
                bonds..................................................
      68       Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income..        60        60        60        60        60        70        70       320
      69       Empowerment zones and enterprise communities............       310       320       660     1,140     1,210     1,340     1,480     5,830
      70       New markets tax credit..................................         0        10        90       200       310       440       640     1,680
      71       Expensing of environmental remediation costs............       160       350       410       330        30      -130       -80       560

             Education, training, employment, and social services:
               Education:
      72        Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal      1,110     1,120     1,130     1,140     1,150     1,160     1,180     5,760
                 tax method)...........................................
      73        HOPE tax credit........................................     4,210     4,480     4,610     4,280     4,110     4,360     4,630    21,990
      74        Lifetime Learning tax credit...........................     2,420     2,570     2,580     2,960     4,490     4,460     4,660    19,150
      75        Education Individual Retirement Accounts...............        20        30        50        60        80       100       120       410
      76        Deductibility of student-loan interest.................       360       370       380       380       390       400       410     1,960
      77        Deferral for state prepaid tuition plans...............       100       130       180       230       250       290       330     1,280
      78        Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds............       210       230       230       240       270       290       330     1,360
      79        Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit          520       540       550       580       650       740       810     3,330
                 educational facilities................................
      80        Credit for holders of zone academy bonds...............        10        20        40        50        60        70        70       290
      81        Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to             10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                 finance educational expenses..........................
      82        Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over       950     1,010     1,070     1,110     1,170     1,220     1,270     5,840
      83        Deductibility of charitable contributions (education)..     2,730     2,830     2,930     3,090     3,200     3,300     3,540    16,060
      84        Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance..       240       260        90         0         0         0         0        90
               Training, employment, and social services:
      85        Work opportunity tax credit............................       390       400       300       180        80        30        10       600
      86        Welfare-to-work tax credit.............................        50        70        70        50        20        10         0       150
      87        Exclusion of employer provided child care..............       670       700       730       760       810       850       900     4,050
      88        Adoption assistance....................................       120       130       120        30        30        20        20       220
      89        Assistance for adopted foster children.................       160       190       210       240       250       260       270     1,230
      90        Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than           680       710       740       780       810       850       890     4,070
                 military).............................................
      91        Child credit \3\.......................................    19,330    19,310    18,980    18,410    18,000    17,430    16,790    89,610
      92        Credit for child and dependent care expenses...........     2,390     2,360     2,330     2,300     2,280     2,250     2,220    11,380
      93        Credit for disabled access expenditures................        40        40        50        50        50        50        50       250
      94        Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than      20,150    21,020    22,030    23,160    24,240    25,380    26,780   121,590
                 education and health..................................
      95        Exclusion of certain foster care payments..............       550       570       300       630       660       700       730     3,020
      96        Exclusion of parsonage allowances......................       330       350       370       400       430       460       490     2,150

             Health:
      97       Exclusion of employer contributions for medical             76,530    84,350    92,230    99,800   107,620   115,770   124,690   540,110
                insurance premiums and medical care....................
      98       Self-employed medical insurance premiums................     1,340     1,510     1,760     2,470     3,580     3,900     4,220    15,930
      99       Workers' compensation insurance premiums................     4,620     4,850     5,090     5,350     5,620     5,900     6,190    28,150
     100       Medical Savings Accounts................................        20        20        30        20        20        20        20       110
     101       Deductibility of medical expenses.......................     4,250     4,560     4,870     5,170     5,480     5,790     6,110    27,420
     102       Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds....     1,080     1,100     1,130     1,210     1,350     1,490     1,660     6,840
     103       Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)......     2,910     3,000     3,100     3,270     3,380     3,480     3,740    16,970
     104       Tax credit for orphan drug research.....................       100       110       130       140       160       180       200       810
     105       Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction................       230       250       280       320       290       280       250     1,420

             Income security:
     106       Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits........       360       360       360       360       360       360       360     1,800
     107       Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits.............     5,120     5,560     5,810     6,070     6,320     6,600     6,900    31,700
     108       Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax            360       370       390       400       420       430       450     2,090
                method)................................................
     109       Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners..        80        70        70        60        60        60        50       300
     110       Exclusion of military disability pensions...............       120       120       130       130       130       140       140       670
               Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
     111        Employer plans.........................................    89,120    93,220    97,510   103,010   108,480   114,220   121,990   545,210
     112        Individual Retirement Accounts.........................    15,200    15,920    16,600    17,230    17,770    18,220    18,520    88,340

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     113        Keogh plans............................................     5,500     5,830     6,180     6,540     6,930     7,330     7,750    34,730
               Exclusion of other employee benefits:
     114        Premiums on group term life insurance..................     1,720     1,750     1,780     1,830     1,860     1,900     1,930     9,300
     115        Premiums on accident and disability insurance..........       200       210       220       230       240       250       260     1,200
     116       Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment          10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                benefits...............................................
               Special ESOP rules......................................     1,240     1,290     1,340     1,400     1,460     1,540     1,610     7,350
     118       Additional deduction for the blind......................        30        30        30        30        40        40        40       180
     119       Additional deduction for the elderly....................     1,920     1,990     2,060     2,130     2,210     2,260     2,350    11,010
     120       Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.................        30        30        30        30        30        30        30       150
     121       Deductibility of casualty losses........................       230       250       260       280       290       300       320     1,450
     122       Earned income tax credit \4\............................     4,644     4,692     4,693     5,225     5,456     5,688     5,965    27,297

             Social Security:
               Exclusion of social security benefits:
     123        Social Security benefits for retired workers...........    18,250    19,070    19,930    20,520    21,050    21,840    22,780   106,120
     124        Social Security benefits for disabled..................     2,640     2,880     3,160     3,490     3,910     4,360     4,840    19,760
     125        Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors..     3,910     4,030     4,210     4,440     4,730     5,070     5,380    23,830

             Veterans benefits and services:
     126       Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability          3,090     3,290     3,460     3,640     3,820     4,010     4,210    19,140
                compensation...........................................
     127       Exclusion of veterans pensions..........................        70        70        80        80        90        90       100       440
     128       Exclusion of GI bill benefits...........................        80        90        90       100       100       110       110       510
     129       Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds.........        40        40        40        40        40        50        50       220

             General purpose fiscal assistance:
     130       Exclusion of interest on public purpose State and local     22,600    23,050    23,510    23,980    24,460    24,950    25,450   122,350
                bonds..................................................
     131       Deductibility of nonbusiness state and local taxes other    42,650    45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                than on owner-occupied homes...........................
     132       Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing      2,470     2,520     2,560     2,580     2,610     2,630     1,060    11,440
                business in U.S. possessions...........................

             Interest:
     133       Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds..............       470       490       520       540       570       600       630     2,860

             Addendum: Aid to State and local governments:
               Deductibility of:
                Property taxes on owner-occupied homes.................    22,140    23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-     42,650    45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                 occupied homes........................................
               Exclusion of interest on State and local bonds for:
                Public purposes........................................    22,600    23,050    23,510    23,980    24,460    24,950    25,450   122,350
                Energy facilities......................................        90        90        90       100       110       130       140       570
                Water, sewage, and hazardous waste disposal facilities.       400       400       410       450       510       560       610     2,540
                Small-issues...........................................       290       300       310       330       360       410       450     1,860
                Owner-occupied mortgage subsidies......................       790       800       820       870       990     1,090     1,200     4,970
                Rental housing.........................................       160       160       170       170       200       230       260     1,030
                Airports, docks, and similar facilities................       620       630       640       690       780       850       950     3,910
                Student loans..........................................       210       230       230       240       270       290       330     1,360
                Private nonprofit educational facilities...............       520       540       550       580       650       740       810     3,330
                Hospital construction..................................     1,080     1,100     1,130     1,210     1,350     1,490     1,660     6,840
                Veterans' housing......................................        40        40        40        40        40        50        50       220
               Credit for holders of zone academy bonds................        10        20        40        50        60        70        70       290
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The determination of whether a provision is a tax expenditure is made on the basis of a broad concept of ``income'' that is larger in scope than is
  ``income'' as defined under general U.S. income tax principles. For that reason, the tax expenditure estimates include, for example, estimates related
  to the exclusion of extraterritorial income, as well as other exclusions, notwithstanding that such exclusions define income under the general rule of
  U.S. income taxation.
\2\ 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: 2000 $840; 2001 $880; 2002 $930; 2003 $950; 2004 $960; 2005 $960; and in 2006 $960.

\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as
  follows: 2000 $810; 2001 $790; 2002 $760; 2003 $720; 2004 $660; 2005 $630; and in 2006 $590.

\4\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of
  dollars) is as follows: 2000 $26,099; 2001 $25,923; 2002 $26,983; 2003 $27,875; 2004 $28,545; 2005 $29,373; and in 2006 $30,165.

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 $10 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not included in the table.


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                                                                            Table 5-2.  CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX ESTIMATES OF TAX EXPENDITURES \1\
                                                                                                        (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                 Corporations                                                                Individuals
                                                                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                    2002-                                                                         2002-
                                                                                     2000     2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006     2006      2000     2001     2002      2003      2004      2005      2006      2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             National Defense
       1       Exclusion of benefits, allowances, and certain pays to armed        .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,140    2,160     2,190     2,210     2,240     2,260     2,290    11,190
                forces personnel.................................................

             International affairs:
       2       Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,500    2,680     2,850     3,010     3,180     3,350     3,550    15,940
       3       Exclusion of certain allowances for Federal employees abroad......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      680      720       750       790       830       870       920     4,160
       4       Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations.................    3,890  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
       5       Extraterritorial income exclusion.................................  .......    4,490    4,810    5,150    5,500    5,880    6,290    27,630  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
       6       Inventory property sales source rules exception...................    2,170    2,280    2,390    2,510    2,630    2,760    2,900    13,190  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
       7       Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal       6,200    6,600    7,000    7,450    7,900    8,400    8,930    39,680  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
                tax method)......................................................
       8       Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income earned           1,190    1,290      540  .......  .......  .......  .......       540  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
                overseas.........................................................

             General science, space, and technology:
       9       Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax    1,650    1,620    1,650    1,740    1,840    1,940    2,060     9,230       30       30        30        30        40        40        40       180
                method)..........................................................
      10       Credit for increasing research activities.........................    1,620    5,990    6,700    5,340    4,670    2,700    1,160    20,570       10       60        60        50        40        20  ........       170

             Energy:
      11       Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels.............       20       60       60       80       90       90       80       400  .......       10        10        20        20        20        20        90
      12       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels...................      290      290      290      290      290      300      300     1,470       50       50        50        50        50        50        50       250
      13       Alternative fuel production credit................................      930      880      820      520      120      120      120     1,700       40       40        40        20        10        10        10        90
      14       Exception from passive loss limitation for working interests in     .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       20       20        20        20        20        20        20       100
                oil and gas properties...........................................
      15       Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal......................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       70       70        80        80        80        90        90       420
      16       Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds....................       20       20       20       20       30       40       40       150       70       70        70        80        80        90       100       420
      17       Enhanced oil recovery credit......................................      280      340      400      480      580      700      830     2,990       30       30        40        50        50        70        80       290
      18       New technology credit.............................................       40       60       70       90       90       90       90       430  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      19       Alcohol fuel credits \2\..........................................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       10       10        10        10        10        10        10        50
      20       Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles..........       50       50       40       20  .......      -30      -40       -10       10       10        10        10  ........  ........       -10        10
      21       Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided by public  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       90       80        80        80        90        90        90       430
                utilities........................................................

             Natural resources and environment:
      22       Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel minerals..       20       20       20       20       20       20       20       100  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      23       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel minerals........      250      260      280      290      300      310      330     1,510       20       20        20        20        20        20        20       100
      24       Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and hazardous         100      100      100      120      130      140      150       640      300      300       310       330       380       420       460     1,900
                waste facilities.................................................
      25       Capital gains treatment of certain timber income..................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       70       70        80        80        80        90        90       420
      26       Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs.....................      280      290      310      320      330      340      360     1,660      290      290       300       310       310       320       320     1,560
      27       Investment credit and seven-year amortization for reforestation     .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........  .......  .......  ........  ........        10        10        10        30
                expenditures.....................................................
      28       Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures............      170      180      190      200      210      220      230     1,050       20       20        20        20        30        30        30       130

             Agriculture:
      29       Expensing of certain capital outlays..............................       20       20       20       20       20       20       20       100      140      140       140       150       150       160       160       760
      30       Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs.................       10       10       20       20       20       20       20       100      100      100       100       100       100       110       110       520
      31       Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers...................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       10        10        10        10        10        10        50

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      32       Capital gains treatment of certain income.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      700      740       780       820       860       900       950     4,310
      33       Income averaging for farmers......................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       50       50        50        50        60        60        60       280
      34       Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners.........................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........

             Commerce and housing:
               Financial institutions and insurance:
      35        Exemption of credit union income.................................    1,550    1,650    1,770    1,890    2,020    2,160    2,280    10,120  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      36        Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions...............       70       60       50       30       20       10  .......       110  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      37        Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings..................      490      530      580      630      690      750      820     3,470   13,460   14,640    15,940    17,360    18,920    20,620    22,510    95,350
      38        Special alternative tax on small property and casualty insurance        10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
                 companies.......................................................
      39        Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by tax-exempt       230      240      250      270      280      300      310     1,410  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
                 organizations...................................................
      40        Small life insurance company deduction...........................      100      100      100      100      100      100      100       500  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
               Housing:
      41        Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage subsidy bonds...      200      200      210      220      250      270      290     1,240      590      600       610       650       740       820       910     3,730
      42        Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds....................       40       40       40       40       50       60       70       260      120      120       130       130       150       170       190       770
      43        Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied homes.......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   60,270   63,190    65,750    68,050    70,470    73,100    76,150   353,520
      44        Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-occupied    .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   22,140   23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                 homes...........................................................
      45        Deferral of income from post 1987 installment sales..............      260      270      270      280      280      290      290     1,410      750      765       780       790       810       820       840     4,040
      46        Capital gains exclusion on home sales............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   18,540   19,095    19,670    20,260    20,870    21,490    22,140   104,430
      47        Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental loss.....  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,720    4,450     4,220     4,000     3,790     3,600     3,410    19,020
      48        Credit for low-income housing investments........................    2,410    2,490    2,600    2,710    2,850    2,960    3,070    14,190      800      820       860       890       940       980     1,010     4,680
      49        Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax method)...      340      370      400      420      430      440      450     2,140    4,400    4,770     5,120     5,410     5,610     5,700     5,760    27,600
               Commerce:
      50        Cancellation of indebtedness.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       30       20        10        10        10        20        20        70
      51        Exceptions from imputed interest rules...........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       80       80        80        80        80        80        80       400
      52        Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore, and coal)     .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   40,520   41,720    42,950    44,220    45,530    46,870    48,260   227,830
                 (normal tax method).............................................
      53        Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock...............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       40       70        90       120       160       200       250       820
      54        Step-up basis of capital gains at death..........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   27,090   28,240    29,370    30,540    31,760    33,030    34,360   159,060
      55        Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      180      190       200       210       220       230       240     1,100
      56        Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business corporation  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       35       40        40        40        40        40        40       200
                 stock sale......................................................
      57        Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing      1,650    1,530    1,540    1,360    1,210    1,130    1,230     6,470    1,610    1,640     1,750     1,520     1,650     1,600     1,990     8,510
                 (normal tax method).............................................
      58        Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax     28,020   30,230   32,400   34,530   36,470   38,110   39,770   181,280    2,640    2,820     3,000     3,150     3,290     3,420     3,560    16,420
                 method).........................................................
      59        Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method).......      630      810      880      870      840      810      820     4,220    1,470    1,760     1,810     1,800     1,730     1,670     1,690     8,700
      60        Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)...............      120      120      120      130      130      130      130       640       80       80        80        80        90        90        90       430
      61        Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax method)........    6,480    6,700    7,140    7,460    7,540    7,760    7,960    37,860  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      62        Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds.......................       70       80       80       90       90      100      110       470      220      220       230       240       270       310       340     1,390


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             Transportation:
      63       Deferral of tax on shipping companies.............................       20       20       20       20       20       20       20       100  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      64       Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses.................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,880    1,980     2,090     2,190     2,300     2,420     2,550    11,550
      65       Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      190      220       260       310       350       400       440     1,760

             Community and regional development:
      66       Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures (other than           20       20       20       20       20       20       20       100       10       10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                historic)........................................................
      67       Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar bonds........      160      160      160      180      200      210      240       990      460      470       480       510       580       640       710     2,920
      68       Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income............       60       60       60       60       60       70       70       320  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      69       Empowerment zones and enterprise communities......................       80       80      210      300      310      350      370     1,540      230      240       450       840       900       990     1,110     4,290
      70       New markets tax credit............................................  .......  .......       20       50       80      110      160       420  .......       10        70       150       230       330       480     1,260
      71       Expensing of environmental remediation costs......................      130      290      340      280       40     -110      -70       480       30       60        70        50       -10       -20       -10        80

             Education, training, employment, and social services:
               Education:
      72        Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal tax         .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,110    1,120     1,130     1,140     1,150     1,160     1,180     5,760
                 method).........................................................
      73        HOPE tax credit..................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,210    4,480     4,610     4,280     4,110     4,360     4,630    21,990
      74        Lifetime Learning tax credit.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,420    2,570     2,580     2,960     4,490     4,460     4,660    19,150
      75        Education Individual Retirement Accounts.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       20       30        50        60        80       100       120       410
      76        Deductibility of student-loan interest...........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      360      370       380       380       390       400       410     1,960
      77        Deferral for state prepaid tuition plans.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      100      130       180       230       250       290       330     1,280
      78        Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds......................       50       60       60       60       70       70       80       340      160      170       170       180       200       220       250     1,020
      79        Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit educational       130      140      140      150      160      190      200       840      390      400       410       430       490       550       610     2,490
                 facilities......................................................
      80        Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.........................       10       20       40       50       60       70       70       290  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
      81        Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to finance         .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       10       10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                 educational expenses............................................
      82        Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over..........  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      950    1,010     1,070     1,110     1,170     1,220     1,270     5,840
      83        Deductibility of charitable contributions (education)............      600      600      590      630      620      590      690     3,120    2,130    2,230     2,340     2,460     2,580     2,710     2,850    12,940
      84        Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      240      260        90  ........  ........  ........  ........        90
               Training, employment, and social services:
      85        Work opportunity tax credit......................................      350      360      270      160       70       30       10       540       40       40        30        20        10  ........  ........        60
      86        Welfare-to-work tax credit.......................................       40       60       60       40       20       10  .......       130       10       10        10        10  ........  ........  ........        20
      87        Exclusion of employer provided child care........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      670      700       730       760       810       850       900     4,050
      88        Adoption assistance..............................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      120      130       120        30        30        20        20       220
      89        Assistance for adopted foster children...........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      160      190       210       240       250       260       270     1,230
      90        Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than military)....  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      680      710       740       780       810       850       890     4,070
      91        Child credit \3\.................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   19,330   19,310    18,980    18,410    18,000    17,430    16,790    89,610
      92        Credit for child and dependent care expenses.....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,390    2,360     2,330     2,300     2,280     2,250     2,220    11,380
      93        Credit for disabled access expenditures..........................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       30       30        40        40        40        40        40       200
      94        Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than education        750      740      730      790      760      730      860     3,870   19,400   20,280    21,300    22,370    23,480    24,650    25,920   117,720
                 and health......................................................
      95        Exclusion of certain foster care payments........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      550      570       300       630       660       700       730     3,020
      96        Exclusion of parsonage allowances................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      330      350       370       400       430       460       490     2,150


[[Page 69]]


             Health:
      97       Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   76,530   84,350    92,230    99,800   107,620   115,770   124,690   540,110
                and medical care.................................................
      98       Self-employed medical insurance premiums..........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,340    1,510     1,760     2,470     3,580     3,900     4,220    15,930
      99       Workers' compensation insurance premiums..........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,620    4,850     5,090     5,350     5,620     5,900     6,190    28,150
     100       Medical Savings Accounts..........................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       20       20        30        20        20        20        20       110
     101       Deductibility of medical expenses.................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,250    4,560     4,870     5,170     5,480     5,790     6,110    27,420
     102       Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds..............      270      280      290      310      340      370      410     1,720      810      820       840       900     1,010     1,120     1,250     5,120
     103       Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)................      730      720      710      760      740      710      830     3,750    2,180    2,280     2,390     2,510     2,640     2,770     2,910    13,220
     104       Tax credit for orphan drug research...............................      100      110      130      140      160      180      200       810  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
     105       Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction..........................      230      250      280      320      290      280      250     1,420  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........

             Income security:
     106       Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits..................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      360      360       360       360       360       360       360     1,800
     107       Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits.......................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    5,120    5,560     5,810     6,070     6,320     6,600     6,900    31,700
     108       Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax method).......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      360      370       390       400       420       430       450     2,090
     109       Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       80       70        70        60        60        60        50       300
     110       Exclusion of military disability pensions.........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      120      120       130       130       130       140       140       670
               Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
     111        Employer plans...................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   89,120   93,220    97,510   103,010   108,480   114,220   121,990   545,210
     112        Individual Retirement Accounts...................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   15,200   15,920    16,600    17,230    17,770    18,220    18,520    88,340
     113        Keogh plans......................................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    5,500    5,830     6,180     6,540     6,930     7,330     7,750    34,730
               Exclusion of other employee benefits:
     114        Premiums on group term life insurance............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,720    1,750     1,780     1,830     1,860     1,900     1,930     9,300
     115        Premiums on accident and disability insurance....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      200      210       220       230       240       250       260     1,200
     116        Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment benefits..       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
     117        Special ESOP rules...............................................      940      980    1,020    1,070    1,120    1,180    1,240     5,630      300      310       320       330       340       360       370     1,720
     118        Additional deduction for the blind...............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       30       30        30        30        40        40        40       180
     119        Additional deduction for the elderly.............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    1,920    1,990     2,060     2,130     2,210     2,260     2,350    11,010
     120        Tax credit for the elderly and disabled..........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       30       30        30        30        30        30        30       150
     121        Deductibility of casualty losses.................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      230      250       260       280       290       300       320     1,450
     122        Earned income tax credit \4\.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    4,644    4,692     4,963     5,225     5,436     5,688     5,965    27,297

             Social Security:
               Exclusion of social security benefits:
     123        Social Security benefits for retired workers.....................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   18,250   19,070    19,930    20,520    21,050    21,840    22,780   106,120
     124        Social Security benefits for disabled............................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    2,640    2,880     3,160     3,490     3,910     4,360     4,840    19,760
     125        Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors............  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,910    4,030     4,210     4,440     4,730     5,070     5,380    23,830

             Veterans benefits and services:
     126       Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability compensation..  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........    3,090    3,290     3,460     3,640     3,820     4,010     4,210    19,140
     127       Exclusion of veterans pensions....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       70       70        80        80        90        90       100       440
     128       Exclusion of GI bill benefits.....................................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........       80       90        90       100       100       110       110       510
     129       Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds...................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       30       30        30        30        30        40        40       170

             General purpose fiscal assistance:
     130       Exclusion of interest on public purpose State and local bonds.....    5,730    5,840    5,960    6,080    6,200    6,320    6,450    31,010   16,870   17,210    17,550    17,900    18,260    18,630    19,000    91,340
     131       Deductibility of nonbusiness state and local taxes other than on    .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   42,650   45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                owner-occupied homes.............................................

[[Page 70]]


     132       Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing business      2,470    2,520    2,560    2,580    2,610    2,630    1,060    11,440  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
                in U.S. possessions..............................................

             Interest:
     133       Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........      470      490       520       540       570       600       630     2,860

             Addendum: Aid to State and local governments:
               Deductibility of:
                Property taxes on owner-occupied homes...........................  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   22,140   23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-occupied     .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  .......  ........   42,650   45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                 homes...........................................................
               Exclusion of interest on State and local bonds for:
                Public purposes..................................................    5,730    5,840    5,960    6,080    6,200    6,320    6,450    31,010   16,870   17,210    17,550    17,900    18,260    18,630    19,000    91,340
                Energy facilities................................................       20       20       20       20       30       40       40       150       70       70        70        80        80        90       100       420
                Water, sewage, and hazardous waste disposal facilities...........      100      100      100      120      130      140      150       640      300      300       310       330       380       420       460     1,900
                Small-issues.....................................................       70       80       80       90       90      100      110       470      220      220       230       240       270       310       340     1,390
                Owner-occupied mortgage subsidies................................      200      200      210      220      250      270      290     1,240      590      600       610       650       740       820       910     3,730
                Rental housing...................................................       40       40       40       40       50       60       70       260      120      120       130       130       150       170       190       770
                Airports, docks, and similar facilities..........................      160      160      160      180      200      210      240       990      460      470       480       510       580       640       710     2,920
                Student loans....................................................       50       60       60       60       70       70       80       340      160      170       170       180       200       220       250     1,020
                Private nonprofit educational facilities.........................      130      140      140      150      160      190      200       840      390      400       410       430       490       550       610     2,490
                Hospital construction............................................      270      280      290      310      340      370      410     1,720      810      820       840       900     1,010     1,120     1,250     5,120
                Veterans' housing................................................       10       10       10       10       10       10       10        50       30       30        30        30        30        40        40       170
               Credit for holders of zone academy bonds..........................       10       20       40       50       60       70       70       290  .......  .......  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The determination of whether a provision is a tax expenditure is made on the basis of a broad concept of ``income'' that is larger in scope than is ``income'' as defined under general U.S. income tax principles. For that reason,
  the tax expenditure estimates include, for example, estimates related to the exclusion of extraterritorial income, as well as other exclusions, notwithstanding that such exclusions define income under the general rule of U.S.
  income taxation.
\2\ 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: 2000 $840; 2001 $880; 2002 $930; 2003 $950; 2004 $960; 2005 $960; and in
  2006 $960.

\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 2000 $810; 2001 $790; 2002 $760; 2003 $720; 2004 $660; 2005 $630; and
  in 2006 $590.

\4\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as follows: 2000 $26,099; 2001 $25,923; 2002 $26,983; 2003 $27,875; 2004
  $28,545; 2005 $29,373; and in 2006 $30,165.

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 $10 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not included in the table.


[[Page 71]]


                Table 5-3.  INCOME TAX EXPENDITURES RANKED BY TOTAL 2002 PROJECTED REVENUE EFFECT
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Provision                                         2002          2002-2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Employer Plans...........      97,510          545,210
Exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and medical      92,230          540,110
 care.........................................................................
Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied homes....................      65,750          353,520
Deductibility of nonbusiness state and local taxes other than on owner-             48,730          276,090
 occupied homes...............................................................
Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore, and coal) (normal tax          42,950          227,830
 method)......................................................................
Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax method).......      35,400          197,700
Step-up basis of capital gains at death.......................................      29,370          159,060
Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-occupied homes.........      25,570          146,070
Exclusion of interest on public purpose State and local bonds.................      23,510          122,350
Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than education and health....      22,030          121,590
Exclusion of Social Security benefits for retired workers.....................      19,930          106,120
Capital gains exclusion on home sales.........................................      19,670          104,430
Child credit..................................................................      18,980           89,610
Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Individual Retirement          16,600           88,340
 Accounts.....................................................................
Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings...............................      16,520           98,820
Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax method).....................       7,140           37,860
Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal tax method)...       7,000           39,680
Credit for increasing research activities.....................................       6,760           20,740
Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings: Keough Plans.............       6,180           34,730
Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits...................................       5,810           31,700
Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax method)................       5,520           29,740
Workers' compensation insurance premiums......................................       5,090           28,150
Earned income tax credit......................................................       4,963           27,297
Deductibility of medical expenses.............................................       4,870           27,420
Extraterritorial income exclusion.............................................       4,810           27,630
HOPE tax credit...............................................................       4,610           21,990
Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental loss..................       4,220           19,020
Exclusion of Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors............       4,210           23,830
Credit for low-income housing investments.....................................       3,460           18,870
Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability compensation..............       3,460           19,140
Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing (normal tax          3,290           14,980
 method)......................................................................
Exclusion of Social Security benefits for disabled............................       3,160           19,760
Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)............................       3,100           16,970
Deductibility of charitable contributions (education).........................       2,930           16,060
Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens............................       2,850           15,940
Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method)....................       2,690           12,920
Lifetime Learning tax credit..................................................       2,580           19,150
Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing business in U.S.             2,560           11,440
 possessions..................................................................
Inventory property sales source rules exception...............................       2,390           13,190
Credit for child and dependent care expenses..................................       2,330           11,380
Exclusion of benefits, allowances, and certain pays to armed forces personnel.       2,190           11,190
Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses.............................       2,090           11,550
Additional deduction for the elderly..........................................       2,060           11,010
Exclusion of premiums on group term life insurance............................       1,780            9,300
Exemption of credit union income..............................................       1,770           10,120
Self-employed medical insurance premiums......................................       1,760           15,930
Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax method)....       1,680            9,410
Special ESOP rules............................................................       1,340            7,350
Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal tax method)............       1,130            5,760
Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds..........................       1,130            6,840
Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over.......................       1,070            5,840
Deferral of income from post 1987 installment sales...........................       1,050            5,450
Alternative fuel production credit............................................         860            1,790
Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage subsidy bonds................         820            4,970
Capital gains treatment of certain income.....................................         780            4,310
Exclusion of certain allowances for Federal employees abroad..................         750            4,160
Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than military).................         740            4,070
Exclusion of employer provided child care.....................................         730            4,050
Empowerment zones and enterprise communities..................................         660            5,830
Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar bonds....................         640            3,910
Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs.................................         610            3,220
Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit educational facilities...         550            3,330
Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income earned overseas..........         540              540
Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds....................................         520            2,860
Enhanced oil recovery credit..................................................         440            3,280
Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and hazardous waste                  410            2,540
 facilities...................................................................
Expensing of environmental remediation costs..................................         410              560
Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax method)...................         390            2,090
Deductibility of student-loan interest........................................         380            1,960

[[Page 72]]


Exclusion of parsonage allowances.............................................         370            2,150
Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits..............................         360            1,800
Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels...............................         340            1,720
Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds....................................         310            1,860
Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel minerals....................         300            1,610
Work opportunity tax credit...................................................         300              600
Exclusion of certain foster care payments.....................................         300            3,020
Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction......................................         280            1,420
Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes................................         260            1,760
Deductibility of casualty losses..............................................         260            1,450
Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by tax-exempt organizations         250            1,410
Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds...................................         230            1,360
Exclusion of premiums on accident and disability insurance....................         220            1,200
Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures........................         210            1,180
Assistance for adopted foster children........................................         210            1,230
Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts.....................................         200            1,100
Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)............................         200            1,070
Deferral for state prepaid tuition plans......................................         180            1,280
Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds.................................         170            1,030
Expensing of certain capital outlays..........................................         160              860
Tax credit for orphan drug research...........................................         130              810
Exclusion of military disability pensions.....................................         130              670
Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs.............................         120              620
Adoption assistance...........................................................         120              220
Small life insurance company deduction........................................         100              500
Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds................................          90              570
Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock............................          90              820
New markets tax credit........................................................          90            1,680
Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance.........................          90               90
Exclusion of GI bill benefits.................................................          90              510
Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal..................................          80              420
Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided by public utilities..          80              430
Capital gains treatment of certain timber income..............................          80              420
Exceptions from imputed interest rules........................................          80              400
Exclusion of veterans pensions................................................          80              440
Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels.........................          70              490
New technology credit.........................................................          70              430
Welfare-to-work tax credit....................................................          70              150
Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners........................          70              300
Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income........................          60              320
Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles......................          50       ...............
Income averaging for farmers..................................................          50              280
Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions............................          50              110
Education Individual Retirement Accounts......................................          50              410
Credit for disabled access expenditures.......................................          50              250
Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business corporation stock sale..          40              200
Credit for holders of zone academy bonds......................................          40              290
Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds...............................          40              220
Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures (other than historic)......          30              150
Medical Savings Accounts......................................................          30              110
Additional deduction for the blind............................................          30              180
Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.......................................          30              150
Exception from passive loss limitation for working interests in oil and gas             20              100
 properties...................................................................
Alcohol fuel credits..........................................................          20              100
Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel minerals..............          20              100
Deferral of tax on shipping companies.........................................          20              100
Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers...............................          10               50
Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners.....................................          10               50
Special alternative tax on small property and casualty insurance companies....          10               50
Cancellation of indebtedness..................................................          10               70
Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to finance educational                  10               50
 expenses.....................................................................
Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment benefits...............          10               50
Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations.............................  ...............  ...............
Investment credit and seven-year amortization for reforestation expenditures..  ...............          30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 73]]


            Table 5-4.  PRESENT VALUE OF SELECTED TAX EXPENDITURES FOR ACTIVITY IN CALENDAR YEAR 2000
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Present
                                                   Provision                                          Value of
                                                                                                    Revenue Loss
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       1     Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations (normal tax method)..........     6,360
       2     Deferred taxes for financial firms on income earned overseas.........................     1,130
       3     Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures (normal tax method)...........     1,650
       4     Expensing of exploration and development costs--fuels................................       140
       5     Expensing of exploration and development costs--nonfuels.............................        10
       6     Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs........................................       340
       7     Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs--agriculture.......................       250
       8     Expensing of certain capital outlays--agriculture....................................       280
       9     Deferral of income on life insurance and annuity contracts...........................    21,220
      10     Accelerated depreciation of rental housing (normal tax method).......................     4,470
      11     Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental housing (normal tax method)..       460
      12     Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment (normal tax method)..............    35,760
      13     Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax method)...........................     1,140
      14     Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method)...................................       180
      15     Deferral of tax on shipping companies................................................        20
      16     Deferral for state prepaid tuition plans.............................................       110
      17     Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.............................................       160
      18     Credit for low-income housing investments............................................     2,490
      19     Exclusion of pension contributions--employer plans...................................   121,100
      20     Exclusion of IRA contributions and earnings..........................................     5,930
      21     Exclusion of contributions and earnings for Keogh plans..............................     4,320
      22     Exclusion of interest on public-purpose bonds........................................    19,670
      23     Exclusion of interest on non-public purpose bonds....................................     5,170
      24     Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds...........................................       410
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           Outlay Equivalents

  The concept of ``outlay equivalents'' is another theoretical 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 provision. The outlay-equivalent 
measure allows the cost of the tax expenditure to be compared with a 
direct Federal outlay. Outlay equivalents are reported in Table 5-5.


                                   Table 5-5.  OUTLAY EQUIVALENT ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE INCOME TAX \1\
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Outlay Equivalents
                                                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2005      2006    2002-2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             National Defense
       1       Exclusion of benefits, allowances, and certain pays to       2,490     2,510     2,540     2,570     2,600     2,620     2,650    12,980
                armed forces personnel.................................

             International affairs:
       2       Exclusion of income earned abroad by U.S. citizens......     3,460     3,700     3,950     4,170     4,400     4,640     4,910    22,070
       3       Exclusion of certain allowances for Federal employees          920       970     1,020     1,070     1,120     1,180     1,240     5,630
                abroad.................................................
       4       Exclusion of income of foreign sales corporations.......     5,990  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  .........
       5       Extraterritorial income exclusion.......................  ........     6,910     7,410     7,920     8,470     9,050     9,670    42,520
       6       Inventory property sales source rules exception.........     3,340     3,500     3,670     3,860     4,050     4,250     4,460    20,290
       7       Deferral of income from controlled foreign corporations      6,200     6,600     7,000     7,450     7,900     8,400     8,930    39,680
                (normal tax method)....................................
       8       Deferred taxes for financial firms on certain income         1,190     1,290       540  ........  ........  ........  ........       540
                earned overseas........................................

             General science, space, and technology:
       9       Expensing of research and experimentation expenditures       1,680     1,650     1,680     1,770     1,880     1,980     2,100     9,410
                (normal tax method)....................................
      10       Credit for increasing research activities...............     2,510     9,320    10,390     8,300     7,240     4,190     1,790    31,910
             Energy:
      11       Expensing of exploration and development costs, fuels...        30        90        90       130       150       140       130       640
      12       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, fuels.........       450       450       460       460       460       470       470     2,320
      13       Alternative fuel production credit......................     1,310     1,230     1,150       730       170       170       170     2,390
      14       Exception from passive loss limitation for working              20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
                interests in oil and gas properties....................
      15       Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal............        90       100       100       110       110       120       120       560
      16       Exclusion of interest on energy facility bonds..........       130       130       130       140       160       190       210     1,090
      17       Enhanced oil recovery credit............................       410       500       590       710       860     1,030     1,230     4,420
      18       New technology credit...................................        50        80       100       120       130       120       120       590

[[Page 74]]


      19       Alcohol fuel credits \2\................................        20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
      20       Tax credit and deduction for clean-fuel burning vehicles        80        90        70        40        10       -40       -60        20
      21       Exclusion from income of conservation subsidies provided       110       110       110       110       120       120       120       580
                by public utilities....................................

             Natural resources and environment:
      22       Expensing of exploration and development costs, nonfuel         30        30        30        30        30        30        30       150
                minerals...............................................
      23       Excess of percentage over cost depletion, nonfuel              340       350       370       380       400       420       430     2,000
                minerals...............................................
      24       Exclusion of interest on bonds for water, sewage, and          570       570       590       650       750       830       900     3,720
                hazardous waste facilities.............................
      25       Capital gains treatment of certain timber income........        90       100       100       110       110       120       120       560
      26       Expensing of multiperiod timber growing costs...........       740       770       800       820       840       870       890     4,220
      27       Investment credit and seven-year amortization for         ........  ........  ........        10        10        10        10        40
                reforestation expenditures.............................
      28       Tax incentives for preservation of historic structures..       190       200       210       220       240       250       260     1,180

             Agriculture:
      29       Expensing of certain capital outlays....................       200       200       200       210       210       220       220     1,060
      30       Expensing of certain multiperiod production costs.......       140       140       150       150       150       150       150       750
      31       Treatment of loans forgiven for solvent farmers.........        10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
      32       Capital gains treatment of certain income...............       940       990     1,040     1,100     1,150     1,210     1,270     5,770
      33       Income averaging for farmers............................        60        60        60        70        70        70        70       340
      34       Deferral of gain on sale of farm refiners...............        10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50

             Commerce and housing:
               Financial institutions and insurance:
      35        Exemption of credit union income.......................     2,310     2,460     2,640     2,820     3,010     3,220     3,400    15,090
      36        Excess bad debt reserves of financial institutions.....        80        70        60        40        20        10  ........       130
      37        Exclusion of interest on life insurance savings........    13,950    15,170    16,520    17,990    19,610    21,370    23,330    98,820
      38        Special alternative tax on small property and casualty         10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                 insurance companies...................................
      39        Tax exemption of certain insurance companies owned by         300       310       320       340       360       380       400     1,800
                 tax-exempt organizations..............................
      40        Small life insurance company deduction.................       130       130       130       130       130       130       130       650
               Housing:
      41        Exclusion of interest on owner-occupied mortgage            1,130     1,140     1,170     1,270     1,440     1,600     1,790     7,270
                 subsidy bonds.........................................
      42        Exclusion of interest on rental housing bonds..........       230       230       240       240       290       340       390     1,500
      43        Deductibility of mortgage interest on owner-occupied       60,270    63,190    65,750    68,050    70,470    73,100    76,150   353,520
                 homes.................................................
      44        Deductibility of State and local property tax on owner-    22,140    23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                 occupied homes........................................
      45        Deferral of income from post 1987 installment sales....     1,000     1,020     1,040     1,060     1,080     1,100     1,120     5,400
      46        Capital gains exclusion on home sales..................    23,170    23,870    24,590    25,320    26,090    26,870    27,670   130,540
      47        Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental     4,720     4,450     4,220     4,000     3,790     3,600     3,410    19,020
                 loss..................................................
      48        Credit for low-income housing investments..............     4,350     4,500     4,690     4,900     5,150     5,360     5,540    25,640
      49        Accelerated depreciation on rental housing (normal tax      4,740     5,140     5,520     5,830     6,040     6,140     6,210    29,740
                 method)...............................................
               Commerce:
      50        Cancellation of indebtedness...........................        30        20        10        10        10        20        20        70
      51        Exceptions from imputed interest rules.................        80        80        80        80        80        80        80       400
      52        Capital gains (except agriculture, timber, iron ore,       54,030    55,630    57,270    58,960    60,700    62,500    64,340   303,770
                 and coal) (normal tax method).........................
      53        Capital gains exclusion of small corporation stock.....        50        90       120       170       220       270       330     1,110
      54        Step-up basis of capital gains at death................    36,120    37,650    39,160    40,720    42,350    44,040    45,810   212,080
      55        Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts..............       180       190       200       210       220       230       240     1,100
      56        Ordinary income treatment of loss from small business          40        50        50        50        60        60        60       280
                 corporation stock sale................................
      57        Accelerated depreciation of buildings other than rental     3,260     3,170     3,290     2,880     2,860     2,730     3,220    14,980
                 housing (normal tax method)...........................
      58        Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment        30,660    33,050    35,400    37,680    39,760    41,530    43,330   197,700
                 (normal tax method)...................................
      59        Expensing of certain small investments (normal tax          2,100     2,570     2,690     2,670     2,570     2,480     2,510    12,920
                 method)...............................................
      60        Amortization of start-up costs (normal tax method).....       200       200       200       210       220       220       220     1,070
      61        Graduated corporation income tax rate (normal tax           9,960    10,300    10,980    11,470    11,600    11,940    12,250    58,240
                 method)...............................................
      62        Exclusion of interest on small issue bonds.............       410       430       440       480       520       600       670     2,710

             Transportation:
      63       Deferral of tax on shipping companies...................        20        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
      64       Exclusion of reimbursed employee parking expenses.......     2,420     2,560     2,690     2,830     2,970     3,130     3,280    14,900
      65       Exclusion for employer-provided transit passes..........       260       300       360       430       490       550       610     2,440

             Community and regional development:
      66       Investment credit for rehabilitation of structures              30        30        30        30        30        30        30       150
                (other than historic)..................................
      67       Exclusion of interest for airport, dock, and similar           890       900       920       990     1,140     1,250     1,410     5,710
                bonds..................................................
      68       Exemption of certain mutuals' and cooperatives' income..        60        60        60        60        60        70        70       320
      69       Empowerment zones and enterprise communities............       310       320       660     1,140     1,210     1,340     1,480     5,830
      70       New markets tax credit..................................  ........        10       120       250       390       560       810     2,130
      71       Expensing of environmental remediation costs............       200       440       510       410        40      -160      -100       700

             Education, training, employment, and social services:
               Education:
      72        Exclusion of scholarship and fellowship income (normal      1,220     1,230     1,240     1,250     1,270     1,280     1,290     6,330
                 tax method)...........................................
      73        HOPE tax credit........................................     5,400     5,750     5,910     5,490     5,260     5,590     5,930    28,180

[[Page 75]]


      74        Lifetime Learning tax credit...........................     3,110     3,290     3,310     3,800     5,750     5,720     5,980    24,560
      75        Education Individual Retirement Accounts...............        20        30        50        60        80       100       120       410
      76        Deductibility of student-loan interest.................       430       440       450       460       470       480       490     2,350
      77        Deferral for state prepaid tuition plans...............       100       130       180       230       250       290       330     1,280
      78        Exclusion of interest on student-loan bonds............       300       330       330       340       390       420       490     1,970
      79        Exclusion of interest on bonds for private nonprofit          740       770       790       840       950     1,090     1,200     4,870
                 educational facilities................................
      80        Credit for holders of zone academy bonds...............        10        30        50        70        90       100       100       410
      81        Exclusion of interest on savings bonds redeemed to             10        20        20        20        20        20        20       100
                 finance educational expenses..........................
      82        Parental personal exemption for students age 19 or over     1,060     1,120     1,180     1,230     1,290     1,350     1,410     6,460
      83        Deductibility of charitable contributions (education)..     3,770     3,890     4,110     4,310     4,450     4,650     4,970    22,490
      84        Exclusion of employer-provided educational assistance..       300       320       110  ........  ........  ........  ........       110
               Training, employment, and social services:
      85        Work opportunity tax credit............................       390       400       300       180        80        30        10       600
      86        Welfare-to-work tax credit.............................        50        70        70        50        20        10  ........       150
      87        Exclusion of employer provided child care..............       890       930       970     1,020     1,080     1,140     1,200     5,410
      88        Adoption assistance....................................       150       160       150        40        40        30        20       280
      89        Assistance for adopted foster children.................       180       210       240       270       280       290       300     1,380
      90        Exclusion of employee meals and lodging (other than           830       870       910       950       990     1,030     1,080     4,960
                 military).............................................
      91        Child credit \3\.......................................    25,770    25,750    25,310    24,550    24,000    23,240    23,240   120,340
      92        Credit for child and dependent care expenses...........     3,190     3,150     3,110     3,080     3,340     3,000     2,970    15,500
      93        Credit for disabled access expenditures................        60        60        70        70        70        70        80       360
      94        Deductibility of charitable contributions, other than      27,070    28,280    29,760    31,300    32,810    34,460    36,340   164,670
                 education and health..................................
      95        Exclusion of certain foster care payments..............       630       660       690       730       760       800       840     3,820
      96        Exclusion of parsonage allowances......................       410       440       470       500       530       570       610     2,680

             Health:
      97       Exclusion of employer contributions for medical             98,640   108,840   119,110   129,040   139,290   150,010   161,800   699,250
                insurance premiums and medical care....................
      98       Self-employed medical insurance premiums................     1,660     1,870     2,200     3,080     4,480     4,880     5,290    19,930
      99       Workers' compensation insurance premiums................     5,780     6,060     6,370     6,690     7,020     7,370     7,740    35,190
     100       Medical Savings Accounts................................        30        30        30        30        30        30        20       140
     101       Deductibility of medical expenses.......................     4,250     4,560     4,870     5,170     5,480     5,790     6,110    27,420
     102       Exclusion of interest on hospital construction bonds....     1,540     1,570     1,620     1,750     1,980     2,190     2,470    10,010
     103       Deductibility of charitable contributions (health)......     4,000     4,140     4,380     4,520     4,650     4,860     5,210    23,620
     104       Tax credit for orphan drug research.....................       100       110       130       140       160       180       200       810
     105       Special Blue Cross/Blue Shield deduction................       320       250       390       460       410       390       350     2,000

             Income security:
     106       Exclusion of railroad retirement system benefits........       360       360       360       360       360       360       360     1,800
     107       Exclusion of workers' compensation benefits.............     5,120     5,560     5,810     6,070     6,320     6,600     6,900    31,700
     108       Exclusion of public assistance benefits (normal tax            360       370       390       400       420       430       450     2,090
                method)................................................
     109       Exclusion of special benefits for disabled coal miners..        80        70        70        60        60        60        50       300
     110       Exclusion of military disability pensions...............       120       120       130       130       130       140       140       670
               Net exclusion of pension contributions and earnings:
     111        Employer plans.........................................   104,170   109,010   114,010   120,710   127,260   134,160   143,530   639,670
     112        Individual Retirement Accounts.........................    20,310    21,350    22,370    23,320    24,200    24,960    25,560   120,410
     113        Keogh plans............................................     6,980     7,400     7,840     8,300     8,780     9,290     9,830    44,040
               Exclusion of other employee benefits:
     114        Premiums on group term life insurance..................     2,070     2,110     2,150     2,200     2,240     2,290     2,330    11,210
     115        Premiums on accident and disability insurance..........       250       260       270       290       300       320       330     1,510
     116       Income of trusts to finance supplementary unemployment          10        10        10        10        10        10        10        50
                benefits...............................................
     117       Special ESOP rules......................................     1,340     1,400     1,460     1,530     1,600     1,690     1,770     8,050
     118       Additional deduction for the blind......................        40        40        40        40        40        40        50       210
     119       Additional deduction for the elderly....................     2,320     2,410     2,490     2,570     2,680     2,730     2,840    13,310
     120       Tax credit for the elderly and disabled.................        40        40        40        40        40        40        40       200
     121       Deductibility of casualty losses........................       260       270       290       310       320       330       350     1,600
     122       Earned income tax credit \4\............................     5,160     5,214     5,515     5,806     6,062     6,320     6,628    30,331

             Social Security:
               Exclusion of social security benefits:..................
     123       Social Security benefits for retired workers............    18,250    19,070    19,930    20,520    21,050    21,840    22,780   106,120
     124       Social Security benefits for disabled...................     2,640     2,880     3,160     3,490     3,910     4,360     4,840    19,760
     125       Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors...     3,910     4,030     4,210     4,440     4,730     5,070     5,380    23,830

             Veterans benefits and services:
     126       Exclusion of veterans death benefits and disability          3,090     3,290     3,460     3,640     3,820     4,010     4,210    19,140
                compensation...........................................
     127       Exclusion of veterans pensions..........................        70        70        80        80        90        90       100       440
     128       Exclusion of GI bill benefits...........................        80        90        90       100       100       110       100       500
     129       Exclusion of interest on veterans housing bonds.........        60        60        60        60        60        70        70       320

             General purpose fiscal assistance:

[[Page 76]]


     130       Exclusion of interest on public purpose State and local     32,380    33,030    33,690    34,370    35,050    35,750    36,470   175,330
                bonds..................................................
     131       Deductibility of nonbusiness state and local taxes other    42,650    45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                than on owner-occupied homes...........................
     132       Tax credit for corporations receiving income from doing      3,530     3,600     3,650     3,690     3,720     3,760     1,510    16,330
                business in U.S. possessions...........................

             Interest:
     133       Deferral of interest on U.S. savings bonds..............       470       490       520       540       570       600       630     2,860

             Addendum: Aid to State and local governments:
               Deductibility of:
                Property taxes on owner-occupied homes.................    22,140    23,920    25,570    27,220    29,080    30,980    33,220   146,070
                Nonbusiness State and local taxes other than on owner-     42,650    45,730    48,730    51,780    55,030    58,390    62,160   276,090
                 occupied homes........................................
               Exclusion of interest on State and local bonds for:
                Public purposes........................................    32,380    33,030    33,690    34,370    35,050    35,750    36,470   175,330
                Energy facilities......................................       130       130       130       140       160       190       210     1,090
                Water, sewage, and hazardous waste disposal facilities.       570       570       590       650       750       830       900     3,720
                Small-issues...........................................       410       430       440       480       520       600       670     2,710
                Owner-occupied mortgage subsidies......................     1,130     1,140     1,170     1,270     1,440     1,600     1,790     7,270
                Rental housing.........................................       230       230       240       240       290       340       390     1,500
                Airports, docks, and similar facilities................       890       900       920       990     1,140     1,250     1,410     5,710
                Student loans..........................................       300       330       330       340       390       420       490     1,970
                Private nonprofit educational facilities...............       740       770       790       840       950     1,090     1,200     4,870
                Hospital construction..................................     1,540     1,570     1,620     1,750     1,980     2,190     2,470    10,010
                Veterans' housing......................................        60        60        60        60        60        70        70       320
               Credit for holders of zone academy bonds................        10        30        50        70        90       100       100       410
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The determination of whether a provision is a tax expenditure is made on the basis of a broad concept of ``income'' that is larger in scope than is
  ``income'' as defined under general U.S. income tax principles. For that reason, the tax expenditure estimates include, for example, estimates related
  to the exclusion of extraterritorial income, as well as other exclusions, notwithstanding that such exclusions define income under the general rule of
  U.S. income taxation.
\2\ 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: 2000 $840; 2001 $880; 2002 $930; 2003 $950; 2004 $960; 2005 $960; and in 2006 $960.

\3\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the child tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of dollars) is as
  follows: 2000 $810; 2001 $790; 2002 $760; 2003 $720; 2004 $660; 2005 $630; and in 2006 $590.

\4\ The figures in the table indicate the effect of the earned income tax credit on receipts. The effect of the credit on outlays (in millions of
  dollars) is as follows: 2000 $26,099; 2001 $25,923; 2002 $26,983; 2003 $27,875; 2004 $28,545; 2005 $29,373; and in 2006 $30,165.

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 $10 million. Provisions with estimates that rounded to zero in each year are not included in the table.

                        Tax Expenditure Baselines

  A tax expenditure is an exception to the baseline provisions of the 
tax structure. The 1974 Congressional Budget Act did not specify the 
baseline provisions of the tax law. Deciding whether provisions are 
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 is closer to existing law. Tax expenditures under the 
reference law baseline are generally tax expenditures under the normal 
tax baseline, but 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 only when it is 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 meas

[[Page 77]]

          uring interest costs would be regarded as a positive tax 
          expenditure (i.e., a tax subsidy).
  Although 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. \1\ 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. \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Gross income does, however, include transfer payments associated 
with past employment, such as social security benefits.
  \2\ 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. In addition, 
costs of earning income may be limited under the alternative minimum 
tax.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.

    Performance Measures and the Economic Effects of Tax Expenditures

  The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs 
Federal agencies to develop annual and strategic plans for their 
programs and activities. These plans set out performance objectives to 
be achieved over a specific time period. Most of these objectives will 
be achieved through direct expenditure programs. However, tax 
expenditures may also contribute to achieving these goals. The report of 
the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on GPRA \3\ calls on the 
Executive branch to undertake a series of analyses to assess the effect 
of specific tax expenditures on the achievement of agencies' performance 
objectives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \3\ Committee on Government Affairs, United States Senate, A 
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (Report 103-58, 1993).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  The Executive Branch is continuing to focus on the availability of 
data needed to assess the effects of the tax expenditures designed to 
increase savings. Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis and Statistics of 
Income Division (IRS) have developed the specifications for a new sample 
of individual income tax filers as one part of this effort. This new 
``panel'' sample will follow the same taxpayers over a period of at 
least ten years. The first year of this panel sample will be drawn from 
tax returns filed in 2000 for tax year 1999. The sample will capture the 
changing demographic and economic circumstances of individuals and the 
effects of changes in tax law over an extended period of time. Data from 
the sample will therefore permit more extensive, and better, analyses of 
many tax provisions than can be performed using only annual (``cross-
section'') data. In particular, data from this panel sample will enhance 
our ability to analyze the effect of tax expenditures

[[Page 78]]

designed to increase savings. Other efforts by OMB, Treasury, and other 
agencies to improve data available for the analysis of savings tax 
expenditures will continue over the next several years.

  Comparison 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. \4\ 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 cases. In addition, some tax expenditures 
actually simplify the tax system, (for example, the exclusion for up to 
$500,000 of capital gains on home sales). Tax expenditures also 
implicitly subsidize certain activities. Spending, regulatory or tax-
disincentive policies can also modify behavior, but may have different 
economic effects. Finally, a variety of tax expenditure tools can be 
used--e.g., deductions; credits; exemptions; deferrals; floors; 
ceilings; phase-ins; 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 economic effects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \4\ Although this section focuses upon tax expenditures under the 
income tax, tax expenditures also arise under the unified transfer, 
payroll, and excise tax systems. Such provisions 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 many cases they add to the 
complexity of the tax system, which raises both administrative and 
compliance costs. For example, targeting personal exemptions and credits 
can complicate filing and decisionmaking. The income tax system may have 
little or no contact with persons who have no or very low incomes, and 
does not require information on certain characteristics of individuals 
used in some spending programs, such as wealth. 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 may not receive the same level of scrutiny afforded to 
other programs.
  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 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 more direct and immediate effects than outlay and 
tax-expenditure programs because regulations apply directly and 
immediately to the regulated party (i.e., the intended actor)--generally 
in the private sector. Regulations can also be fine-tuned more quickly 
than tax expenditures, because they can generally be changed by the 
executive branch without legislation. Like tax expenditures, regulations 
often rely largely 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, although 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 Federal outlays or receipts. Thus, like tax expenditures, they 
may escape the type of scrutiny that outlay programs receive. However, 
most regulations are subjected to a formal benefit-cost analysis that 
goes well beyond the analysis required for outlays and tax-expenditures. 
To some extent, the GPRA requirement for performance evaluation will 
address this lack of formal analysis.
  Some policy objectives are achieved using multiple approaches. For 
example, minimum wage legislation, the earned income tax credit, and the 
food stamp program are regulatory, tax expenditure, and direct outlay 
programs, respectively, all having the objective of improving the 
economic welfare of low-wage workers.
  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., the exclusion for up to 
$500,000 of capital gains on home sales); 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

[[Page 79]]

above, may have more than one objective. For example, accelerated 
depreciation may encourage investment. 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). Effects on the incomes of 
members of particular groups 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 provisions. In addition, such 
assessments can raise significant challenges in economic modeling.
  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 service in a combat zone 
or qualified hazardous duty area 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 goals such 
as promoting tax neutrality. These include the exclusion for income 
earned abroad by nongovernmental employees and exclusions for income of 
U.S.-controlled foreign corporations. Measuring the effectiveness of 
these provisions raises challenging issues.
  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 (e.g., 
research spending, exploration activity, equipment) might 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 size of tax expenditure. 
Measures could also indicate the 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 tax expenditures 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 exclusion for 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 for

[[Page 80]]

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 
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 grants 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 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 pooling of risks. 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.
  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). 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 
provided at the firm level to individuals.
  Other provisions principally affect the incomes of members of certain 
groups, rather than affecting incentives. 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 earned-income tax credit, in contrast, should be 
evaluated for its effects on labor force participation as well as the 
income it provides lower-income workers.

  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, although 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. As indicated above, over the 
next few years the Executive Branch's focus will be on the availability 
of the data needed to assess the effects of the tax expenditures 
designed to increase savings.

                  Descriptions of Income Tax Provisions

  Descriptions of the individual and corporate income tax expenditures 
reported upon in this chapter follow. These descriptions relate to 
current law and do not reflect proposals made elsewhere in the Budget.

[[Page 81]]

                            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 service in a combat zone or qualified 
hazardous duty area are excluded from income subject to tax.

                          International Affairs

  2. Income earned abroad.--U.S. citizens who lived abroad, worked in 
the private sector, and satisfied a foreign residency requirement in 
2000 may exclude up to $76,000 in foreign earned income from U.S. taxes. 
The exclusion increases to $78,000 in 2001 and to $80,000 in 2002. In 
addition, if these taxpayers receive a specific allowance for foreign 
housing from their employers, they may also exclude the value of that 
allowance. If they do not receive a specific allowance for housing 
expenses, they may deduct against their U.S. taxes that portion of such 
expenses that exceeds one-sixth the salary of a civil servant at grade 
GS-14, step 1 ($65,983 in 2000).
  3. Exclusion of certain allowances for federal employees abroad.--U.S. 
Federal civilian employees and Peace Corps members who work outside the 
continental United States are allowed to exclude from U.S. taxable 
income certain special allowances they receive to compensate them for 
the relatively high costs associated with living overseas. The 
allowances supplement wage income and cover expenses like rent, 
education, and the cost of travel to and from the United States.
  4. 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. The FSC provisions were generally repealed by 
the FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000, 
effective for transactions after September 30, 2000.
  5. Extraterritorial income exclusion \5\.--For purposes of calculating 
U.S. tax liability, a taxpayer may exclude from gross income the 
qualifying foreign trade income attributable to foreign trading gross 
receipts. The exclusion generally applies to income from the sale or 
lease of qualifying foreign trade property and certain types of services 
income. The exclusion is generally available for transactions entered 
into after September 30, 2000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \5\ The determination of whether a provision is a tax expenditure is 
made on the basis of a broad concept of ``income'' that is larger in 
scope than is ``income'' as defined under general U.S. income tax 
principles. For that reason, the tax expenditure estimates include, for 
example, estimates related to the exclusion of extraterritorial income, 
as well as other exclusions, notwithstanding that such exclusions define 
income under the general rule of U.S. income taxation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6. 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 allocates earnings between the United 
States and abroad equally, which may increase foreign source income use 
of foreign tax credits.
  7. 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 
considered to be 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.
  8. Exceptions under subpart F for active financing income.--Consistent 
with the rules applicable to U.S.-controlled foreign corporations, 
financial firms can defer taxes on income earned overseas in an active 
business. Taxes on income earned through December 31, 2001 can be 
deferred.

                 General Science, Space, and Technology

  9. 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.
  10. R&E credit.--The research and experimentation (R&E) 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'' by the average amount of the company's gross receipts for 
the prior four years. The taxpayer's fixed base percentage generally is 
the ratio of its research expenses to gross receipts for 1984 through 
1988. Taxpayers may also elect an alternative credit regime. Under the 
alternative credit regime the taxpayer is assigned a three-tiered fixed-
base percentage that is lower than the fixed-base percentage that would 
otherwise apply, and the credit rate is reduced (the rates range from 
2.65 percent to 3.75 percent). A 20-percent credit with a separate 
threshold is provided for a taxpayer's payments to universities for 
basic research. The credit applies to research conducted before July 1, 
2004 and extends to research conducted in Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
possessions.

                                 Energy

  11. 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

[[Page 82]]

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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Capital gains treatment of royalties on coal.--Sales of certain 
coal under royalty contracts can be treated as capital gains rather than 
ordinary income.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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, biomass, and poultry 
waste facilities. The renewable resources credit applies only to 
electricity produced by a facility placed in service on or before 
December 31, 2001.
  19. 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 2000; 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.
  20. 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.
  21. Exclusion of utility conservation subsidies.--Non-business 
customers can exclude from gross income subsidies received from public 
utilities for expenditures on energy conservation measures.

                    Natural Resources and Environment

  22. 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.
  23. Percentage depletion.--Most nonfuel mineral extractors may use 
percentage depletion rather than cost depletion, with percentage 
depletion rates ranging from 22 percent for sulfur to 5 percent for sand 
and gravel.
  24. Sewage, water, solid and hazardous waste facility 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.
  25. Capital gains treatment of certain timber.--Certain timber sold 
under a royalty contract can be treated as a capital gain rather than 
ordinary income.
  26. 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 costs are capitalized under the uniform capitalization 
rules.
  27. 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 may be amortized 
is not reduced by any of the allowable investment credit.

[[Page 83]]

  28. 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

  29. 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.
  30. 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.
  31. Loans forgiven solvent farmers.--Farmers are forgiven the tax 
liability on certain forgiven debt. Normally, a 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 reduces carryover losses, then 
unused credits, and then basis; any remainder of the forgiven debt is 
excluded from tax. Farmers with forgiven debt are considered insolvent 
for tax purposes, and thus qualify for income tax forgiveness.
  32. Capital gains treatment of certain income.--Certain agricultural 
income, such as unharvested crops, can be treated as capital gains 
rather than ordinary income.
  33. Income averaging for farmers.--Taxpayers can lower their tax 
liability by averaging, over the prior three-year period, their taxable 
income from farming.
  34. 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.

                          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.
  35. Credit union income.--The earnings of credit unions not 
distributed to members as interest or dividends are exempt from income 
tax.
  36. 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.
  37. 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.
  38. 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 $2.1 million of net premium 
incomes may elect to pay tax only on the income earned by their 
investment portfolio.
  39. 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.
  40. 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.
  41. 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 these and other private activity is 
limited. The combined volume cap for private activity bonds, including 
mortgage housing bonds, rental housing bonds, student loan bonds, and 
industrial development bonds, is $50 per capita ($150 million minimum) 
per State in 2000, $62.50 per capita ($187.5 million minimum) in 2001, 
and $75 per capita ($225 million minimum) in 2002. The Community Renewal 
Tax Relief Act of 2000 accelerated the scheduled increase in the state 
volume cap and indexed the cap for inflation, beginning in 2003. States 
may issue mortgage credit certificates (MCCs) in lieu of mortgage 
revenue bonds. MCCs entitle homebuyers 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.
  42. Rental housing bonds.--Interest earned on State and local 
government bonds used to finance mul

[[Page 84]]

tifamily 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.
  43. 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.
  44. 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.
  45. Installment sales.--Dealers in real and personal property (i.e., 
sellers who 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 million is, therefore, a tax 
expenditure.
  46. 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.
  47. 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.
  48. 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 in 2000. The Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 
increased the per-resident limit to $1.50 in 2001 and to $1.75 in 2002 
and indexed the limit for inflation, beginning in 2003. The Act also 
created a $2 million minimum annual cap for small States beginning in 
2002; the cap is indexed for inflation, beginning in 2003.
  49. Accelerated depreciation of rental property.--The tax depreciation 
allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, and thus do 
not give rise to 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, a 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.
  50. 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.
  51. 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. 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 farms and small businesses 
worth between $250,000 and $1 million.
  52. 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 most assets held for more than 1 year, the top capital gains tax 
rate is 20 percent. For assets acquired after December 31, 2000, the top 
capital gains tax rate for assets held for more than 5 years is 18 
percent. On January 1, 2001, taxpayers may mark-to-market existing 
assets to start the 5-year holding period. Losses from the mark-to-
market are not recognized.
  For assets held for more than 1 year by taxpayers in the 15-percent 
ordinary tax bracket, the top capital gains tax rate is 10 percent. 
After December 31, 2000,

[[Page 85]]

the top capital gains tax rate for assets held by these taxpayers for 
more than 5 years is 8 percent.
  53. 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.
  54. 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.
  55. Carryover basis of capital gains on gifts.--When a gift is made, 
the donor's basis in the transferred property (the cost that was 
incurred when the transferred property was first acquired) carries-over 
to the donee. The carryover of the donor's basis allows a continued 
deferral of unrealized capital gains.
  56. 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.
  57. Accelerated depreciation of non-rental-housing buildings.--The tax 
depreciation allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, 
and thus do not give rise to 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.
  58. Accelerated depreciation of machinery and equipment.--The tax 
depreciation allowance provisions are part of the reference law rules, 
and thus do not give rise to 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.
  59. Expensing of certain small investments.--In 2000, qualifying 
investments in tangible property up to $20,000 can be expensed rather 
than depreciated over time. The expensing limit increases to $24,000 in 
2001 and to $25,000 in 2003. To the extent that qualifying investment 
during the year exceeds $200,000, the amount eligible for expensing is 
decreased. In 2000, the amount expensed is completely phased out when 
qualifying investments exceed $220,000.
  60. 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.
  61. 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 $75,000. 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.
  62. 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.

                             Transportation

  63. 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.
  64. Exclusion of employee parking expenses.--Employee parking expenses 
that are paid for by the employer or that are received in lieu of wages 
are excludable from the income of the employee. In 2000, the maximum 
amount of the parking exclusion is $175 (indexed) per month. The tax 
expenditure estimate does not include parking at facilities owned by the 
employer.
  65. Exclusion of employee transit pass expenses.--Transit passes, 
tokens, fare cards, and vanpool expenses paid for by an employer or 
provided in

[[Page 86]]

lieu of wages to defray an employee's commuting costs are excludable 
from the employee's income. In 2000, the maximum amount of the exclusion 
is $65 (indexed) per month. In 2002, the maximum amount of the exclusion 
increases to $100 (indexed) per month.

                   Community and Regional Development

  66. 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.
  67. 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.
  68. 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.
  69. Empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and renewal 
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, accelerated depreciation, and certain capital gains 
incentives. In addition, certain first-time buyers of a principal 
residence in the District of Columbia can receive a tax credit on homes 
purchased on or before December 31, 2003, and investors in certain D.C. 
property can receive a capital gains break. The Community Renewal Tax 
Relief Act of 2000 created the renewal communities tax benefits, which 
begin on January 1, 2002 and expire on December 31, 2009. The Act also 
created additional empowerment zones, increased the tax benefits for 
empowerment zones, and extended the expiration date of (1) empowerment 
zones from December 31, 2004 to December 31, 2009, and (2) the D.C. 
homebuyer credit from December 31, 2001 to December 31, 2003.
  70. New markets tax credit.--Taxpayers who invest in a community 
development entity (CDE) after December 31, 2000 are eligible for a tax 
credit. The total equity investment available for the credit across all 
CDEs is $1.0 billion in 2001, $1.5 billion in 2002 and 2003, $2.0 
billion in 2004 and 2005, and $3.5 billion in 2006 and 2007. The amount 
of the credit equals (1) 5 percent in the year of purchase and the 
following 2 years, and (2) 6 percent in the following 4 years. A CDE is 
any domestic firm whose primary mission is to serve or provide 
investment capital for low-income communities/individuals; a CDE must be 
accountable to residents of low-income communities. The Community 
Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 created the new markets tax credit.
  71. Expensing of environmental remediation costs.--Taxpayers who clean 
up certain hazardous substances at a qualified site may expense the 
clean-up costs, rather than capitalize the costs, even though the 
expenses may increase the value of the property significantly. The 
expensing only applies to clean-up costs incurred on or before December 
31, 2003. The Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 extended the 
expiration date from December 31, 2001 to December 31, 2003. The Act 
also expanded the number of qualified sites.

          Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services

  72. 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).
  73. 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).
  74. 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 before January 1, 
2003, 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.
  75. 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 sin

[[Page 87]]

gles). 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.
  76. Student-loan interest.--In 2000, taxpayers may claim an above-the-
line deduction of up to $2,000 on interest paid on an education loan. 
The maximum deduction increases to $2,500 in 2001. Interest may only be 
deducted for the first five years in which interest payments 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).
  77. 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.
  78. 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.
  79. 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.
  80. Credit for holders of zone academy bonds.--Financial institutions 
that own zone academy bonds receive a non-refundable tax credit (at a 
rate set by the Treasury Department) rather than interest. The credit is 
included in gross income. Proceeds from zone academy bonds may only be 
used to renovate, but not construct, qualifying schools and for certain 
other school purposes. The total amount of zone academy bonds that may 
be issued is limited to $1.6 billion--$400 million in each year from 
1998 to 2001.
  81. 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 
$81,100 and $111,100 ($54,100 and $69,100 for singles) in 2000.
  82. 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.
  83. 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.
  84. 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 on or before December 31, 2001.
  85. Work opportunity tax credit.--Employers can claim a tax credit for 
qualified wages paid to individuals who begin work on or before December 
31, 2001 and who are certified as members of various targeted groups. 
The amount of the credit that can be claimed is 25 percent for 
employment of less than 400 hours and 40 percent for employment of 400 
hours or more. The maximum credit per employee is $2,400 and can only be 
claimed on the first year of wages an individual earns from an employer. 
Employers must reduce their deduction for wages paid by the amount of 
the credit claimed.
  86. 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 on 
or before December 31, 2001.
  87. 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.
  88. Assistance for adopted foster children.--Taxpayers who adopt 
eligible children from the public foster care system can receive monthly 
payments for the children's significant and varied needs and a 
reimbursement of up to $2,000 for nonrecurring adoption expenses. These 
payments are excluded from gross income.
  89. 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). The 
credit is phased-out ratably for taxpayers with modified AGI between 
$75,000 and $115,000. Unused credits may be carried forward and used 
during the five subsequent years. Taxpayers may also exclude qualified 
adoption expenses from income, subject to the same maximum amounts and 
phase-out as the credit. The same expenses cannot qualify for tax 
benefits under both programs; however, a taxpayer may use the benefits 
of the exclusion and the tax credit for different expenses. Stepchild 
adoptions are not eligible for either benefit. Both of the current tax 
benefits expire at the end of 2001, except for the tax credit for 
expenses associated with special needs adoptions, which is permanent.
  90. Employer-provided meals and lodging.--Employer-provided meals and 
lodging are excluded from

[[Page 88]]

an employee's gross income even though the employer's costs for these 
items are a deductible business expense.
  91. Child credit.--Taxpayers with children under age 17 can qualify 
for a $500 child credit. 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.
  92. 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 single parents and by divorced or 
separated parents who have custody of children. 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.
  93. 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.
  94. 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.
  95. 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.
  96. 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

  97. 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.
  98. 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 60 percent in 
2000 and 2001, 70 percent in 2002, and 100 percent in 2003 and 
thereafter.
  99. 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.
  100. 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, 2002. The Community Renewal Tax Relief 
Act of 2000 extended the expiration date from December 31, 2000 to 
December 31, 2002.
  101. 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.
  102. Hospital construction bonds.--Interest earned on State and local 
government debt issued to finance hospital construction is excluded from 
income subject to tax.
  103. 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.
  104. 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.
  105. 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

  106. Railroad retirement benefits.--Railroad retirement benefits are 
not generally subject to the income tax unless the recipient's gross 
income reaches

[[Page 89]]

a certain threshold. The threshold is discussed more fully under the 
social security function.
  107. Workers' compensation benefits.--Workers compensation provides 
payments to disabled workers. These benefits, although income to the 
recipients, are not subject to the income tax.
  108. 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.
  109. 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.
  110. Military disability pensions.--Most of the military pension 
income received by current disabled retired veterans is excluded from 
their income subject to tax.
  111. 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.
  112. 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 federal 
government's Thrift Savings Plan).
  In 2000, an employee could exclude up to $10,500 (indexed) of wages 
from AGI under a qualified arrangement with an employer's 401(k). In 
2000, 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 $52,000 ($32,000 for singles). The AGI limit 
increases annually until it reaches $80,000 in 2007 ($50,000 in 2005 for 
singles). In 2000, the IRA deduction is phased out for taxpayers with 
AGI between $52,000 and $62,000 ($32,000 and $42,000 for singles). The 
phase-out range increases annually until it reaches $80,000 to $100,000 
in 2007 ($50,000 to $60,000 in 2005 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).
  113. 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.
  114. 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.
  115. 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.
  116. 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.
  117. 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.
  118. Additional deduction for the blind.--Taxpayers who are blind may 
take an additional $1,000 standard deduction if single, or $800 if 
married.
  119. 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.
  120. 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 to 15 percent of the sum of their earned and retirement

[[Page 90]]

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.
  121. 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.
  122. 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 $6,920 of earned income in 2000. The credit is 40 
percent of the first $9,720 of income for a family with two or more 
qualifying children. When the taxpayer's income exceeds $12,690, 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 
$27,413 of modified adjusted gross income ($31,152 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 2000, the credit is 7.65 
percent of the first $4,610 of earned income. When the taxpayer's income 
exceeds $5,770, the credit is phased out at the rate of 7.65 percent. It 
is completely phased out at $10,380 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

  123. 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.
  124. Social Security benefits for the disabled.--Benefit payments from 
the Social Security Trust Fund, for disability and for dependents and 
survivors, are excluded from a beneficiary's gross incomes.
  125. Social Security benefits for dependents and survivors.--Benefit 
payments from the Social Security Trust Fund for dependents and 
survivors are excluded from a beneficiary's gross income.

                     Veterans Benefits and Services

  126. Veterans death benefits and disability compensation.--All 
compensation due to death or disability paid by the Veterans 
Administration is excluded from taxable income.
  127. Veterans pension payments.--Pension payments made by the Veterans 
Administration are excluded from gross income.
  128. G.I. Bill benefits.--G.I. Bill benefits paid by the Veterans 
Administration are excluded from gross income.
  129. 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

  130. 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), equipment acquisition, and other public 
purposes is tax-exempt. Interest on bonds issued by Indian tribal 
governments for essential governmental purposes is also tax-exempt.
  131. 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.
  132. Business income earned in U.S. possessions.--U.S. corporations 
operating in a U.S. possession (e.g., Puerto Rico) can claim a credit 
against some or all of their U.S. tax liability on possession business 
income. The credit expires December 31, 2005.

                                Interest

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

[[Page 91]]

              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 (indexed) 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 2000, this credit allows each taxpayer to 
          make a $675,000 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 2006. \6\
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  \6\ An additional tax, at a flat rate of 55 percent, is imposed on 
lifetime, generation-skipping transfers in excess of $1 million 
(indexed). 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.
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     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 2000-2006 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 $300,000 in 2000 and increases to $400,000 in 
2001 and to $500,000 in 2002.

                               Agriculture

  2. Special-use valuation of farms.--In 2000, up to $750,000 (indexed) 
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.
  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 gross 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. A 2-percent interest rate (non-
deductible) is applied to the first $1 million (indexed) of deferred 
taxable value.

                          Commerce and Housing

  4. Special-use valuation of closely-held businesses.--The special-use 
valuation rule available for family farms is also available for nonfarm 
family businesses. To be eligible for the special-use valuation, the

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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 cannot exceed $675,000. The combined 
value of the exclusion and the exemption value of the unified credit 
cannot exceed $1.3 million. 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 under the estate tax.
  8. Charitable contributions, other than education and health.--
Bequests to charitable, religious, and certain other nonprofit 
organizations can be deducted under the estate tax.

                                 Health

  9. Charitable contributions to health institutions.--Bequests to 
health institutions can be deducted under the estate tax.

                           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.

[[Page 93]]



                                     Table 5-6.  ESTIMATES FOR TAX EXPENDITURES IN THE FEDERAL UNIFIED TRANSFER TAX
                                                                (In millions of dollars)
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                                     Description                           2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2005      2006    2002-2006
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             Natural Resources and Environment:
       1       Donations of conservation easements.....................  ........  ........  ........        10        10        10        20         50

             Agriculture:
       2       Special use valuation of farm real property.............       110       110       120       120       130       130       130        630
       3       Tax deferral of closely held farms......................  ........  ........        10        10        20        20        30         90

             Commerce:
       4       Special use valuation of real property used in closely          10        10        10        10        10        10        10         50
                held businesses........................................
       5       Tax deferral of closely held business...................       -20        30        60        80       100       130       140        510
       6       Exclusion for family owned businesses...................       130       140       150       160       170       170       170        820

             Education, training, employment, and social services:
       7       Deduction for charitable contributions (education)......       780       880       960       990     1,030     1,060     1,100      5,140
       8       Deduction for charitable contributions (other than           2,300     2,600     2,830     2,930     3,050     3,120     3,260     15,190
                education and health)..................................

             Health:
       9       Deduction for charitable contributions (health).........       700       800       870       900       930       960     1,000      4,660

             General government:
      10       Credit for State death taxes............................     6,420     6,720     7,030     7,340     7,660     8,000     8,350     38,380
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