Should the IRS Disclose Information About Entities Getting Special Interest Tax Credits? (S. 1974)

What is S. 1974?

(Updated January 31, 2021)

This bill would require the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to disclose information regarding tax credits for inclusion on USAspending.gov — which publishes information for all other federal expenditures, grants, contracts, and loans. For tax credits provided to corporations after the bill’s enactment, the IRS would have to disclose the name of the taxpayer, the type of tax credit provided, and the amount of the credit.

Tax credits are considered “tax expenditures” for budgetary purposes because they’re forgone revenue. They account for about $1.23 trillion in forgone revenue each year.

Argument in favor

Special interests have used their political influence to secure tax breaks for themselves, and the IRS should make information about the tax credits corporations are claiming available to the American public.

Argument opposed

It’s not a bad idea to require the IRS to disclose high-level information about special interest tax credits for the sake of transparency, but the general public shouldn’t be able to see exactly how much a company got in a tax credit.

Impact

The general public; entities receiving tax credits; and the IRS.

Cost of S. 1974

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced this bill to provide transparency for the public about the special interest tax credits that entities are receiving:

“Congress cannot reform the tax code if we do not even know what loopholes there are, the cost of each, and who they are benefiting. Every tax give-away to one special interest represents a tax hike for everyone else, which Congress should be prepared to justify.”

Sen. Flake released an oversight report entitled “Tax Rackets: Outlandish Loopholes to Lower Tax Liability” that detailed $50 billion in tax credits, such as $200 millioin for chicken poop.

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Press Release
  
• Sen. Flake Op-Ed in The Hill
  
• Ripon Advance
  
• Washington Times