Congressional Think Tank Documents Tax Provisions from the Prior Congress

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released its “Bluebook” on March 8^th, which explains the tax provisions that were enacted during the 116th Congress (2019 thru 2020).  

The nearly 600-page document explains over 200 tax provisions, which includes tax measures in the Taxpayer First Act, the education-focused ‘‘FUTURE’’ Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, to name a few.

From the JCT:

For each provision, the Bluebook includes a description of present law, an explanation of the provision, and the effective date. For a bill with a Committee report (or, in the absence of one, a contemporaneous technical explanation prepared and published by the Joint Committee staff), the document is based on the language of the report (or explanation).

An appendix provides a table with the estimated budget effects of the tax legislation in the Bluebook.

The document is here.

The JCT is responsible for providing information to lawmakers about tax provisions they seek to enact. A big part of what the organization offers is the cost estimate for a particular provision. Today’s document includes the revenue estimates for the tax provisions enacted during the prior Congress. Those estimates begin on page 561.