Options for Taxing U.S. Multinational Corporations


How the federal government taxes U.S. multinational corporations has consequences for the U.S. economy and for the federal budget.

  • The current tax system provides incentives for U.S. firms to locate their businesses and report profits in countries with low taxes to reduce their U.S. tax liability—thereby reducing total federal revenues.
  • CBO examined policy options that would modify or change more fundamentally the way the U.S. tax code treats multinational corporations.

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Supplemental Security Income Recipients As a Share of the Total Population of the Same Age

Supplemental Security Income: An Overview


In fiscal year 2013, more than 8 million people will receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments at a federal cost of about $50 billion.

  • SSI provides cash assistance to people who are disabled, aged, or both and who have low income and few assets.
  • Over the last two decades, participation in SSI among disabled adults (ages 18 to 64) has increased substantially, partly because of the relaxing of eligibility rules. In contrast, the share of the aged (65 or over) who participate has declined steadily.

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Shares of Business Receipts by Form of Taxation

Taxing Businesses Through the Individual Income Tax


Business activity subject to individual rather than corporate income tax has grown, reducing federal revenues but probably promoting investment.

  • In 1980, 83 percent of firms were organized as pass-through entities—that is, businesses subject to the individual income tax—and they accounted for 14 percent of business receipts.
  • In 2007, those shares had increased to 94 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

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Choices for Deficit Reduction


Putting the federal budget on a more sustainable path is likely to require a combination of policies, many of which may stand in stark contrast to policies now in place.

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Economic Effects of Policies Contributing to Fiscal Tightening in 2013


Significant tax increases and spending cuts are slated to take effect in January 2013, sharply reducing the federal budget deficit and causing, by CBO’s estimates, a decline in economic output and an increase in unemployment. What would be the economic effects of eliminating various components of that fiscal tightening—or what some term the fiscal cliff?

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