{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893","repository_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893/events","html_url":"https://github.com/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893","id":299041591,"number":1893,"title":"How do taxcalc's difference functions handle reforms that change expanded income?","user":{"login":"MaxGhenis","id":6076111,"avatar_url":"https://avatars3.githubusercontent.com/u/6076111?v=4","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis","html_url":"https://github.com/MaxGhenis","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/MaxGhenis/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[],"state":"closed","locked":false,"assignee":null,"assignees":[],"milestone":null,"comments":9,"created_at":"2018-02-21T16:37:55Z","updated_at":"2018-02-22T12:56:31Z","closed_at":"2018-02-21T20:44:22Z","author_association":"CONTRIBUTOR","body":"Expanded income is the default \"dimension\" / x-axis for slicing effects of reforms. But this includes benefits, and UBI in reforms where it's present. This means that reforms involving these parameters alter expanded income.\r\n\r\nHow do taxcalc's difference functions handle these circumstances? It seems like there are two options:\r\n\r\n1. Calculate impact on each expanded income bin under the baseline and reform separately, and report the difference. This is what I had thought the behavior was, but it would present problems.\r\n\r\n2. Bin only on the baseline, and map tax units back to their baseline expanded income when calculating the reform effect. That difference tables report the total # tax units suggests that this is the behavior, since otherwise there could be different counts.\r\n\r\nGiven this potential confusion, it may be useful to have an income measure that's independent of benefits and UBI, as a more \"fixed\" x-axis. As it stands, expanded income is somewhere between an immutable measure (can still change under dynamic models, but assumed constant for static) and after-tax income."},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/comments/367672311","html_url":"https://github.com/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893#issuecomment-367672311","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/open-source-economics/Tax-Calculator/issues/1893","id":367672311,"user":{"login":"feenberg","id":8114261,"avatar_url":"https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/8114261?v=4","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg","html_url":"https://github.com/feenberg","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/feenberg/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2018-02-22T12:56:31Z","updated_at":"2018-02-22T12:56:31Z","author_association":"CONTRIBUTOR","body":"\n\nOn Wed, 21 Feb 2018, Martin Holmer wrote:\n\n> \n> @MaxGhenis asked:\n>\n>       I'm curious what you think about a different expanded income measure. Something like this\n>       would essentially be the pre-government analog of after-tax income, the post-government\n>       conclusion of taxcalc. I'm not sure if expanded income included other government programs\n>       before UBI and benefits, but at this point it's no longer pre-government. If you think\n>       it's worth a discussion we can continue in a separate issue.\n> \n> In response to your subquestion:\n>\n>       I'm not sure if expanded income included other government programs before UBI and benefits\n> \n> Yes, expanded income includes benefits from several \"government programs\" including unemployment\n> insurance benefits and social security benefits. A substantial fraction of social security benefits\n> are included in AGI. I'm not sure how we could sensibly define a \"pre-government\" income statistic.\n> Would we exclude all wages and salaries paid by federal, state, and local governments? My\n> understanding is that other tax analysis groups tend to use a broad definition of income.\n\nI think he means \"before taxes and transfers\", which is a commonly used \nmetric.\n\ndan\n\n"}}
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