Every line of the Internal Revenue Code is continually vulnerable to revision or repeal. With each new session of Congress, rates may rise or fall, transactions may become taxable or tax-free, and incentive programs may be extended or repealed. The resulting uncertainty harms taxpayers, who find...

Viewed in the aggregate, the U.S. fiscal system is progressive, reduces inequality, and cuts poverty. The system improves on market outcomes by transferring income from rich to poor. Yet this bird’s eye view rings hollow on the ground, where millions of low-income taxpayers across the United...