Base Broadening Gone Wrong: Work-Related Costs and the TCJA

Tax policy scholars often advocate broadening the tax base. Not all base broadening is created equal, however. A fundamental tax policy principle, firmly grounded in economic theory, requires that an income tax allow deductions for the costs of earning income, including work-related costs. Base broadening that removes those deductions is misdirected. Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act implemented that type of base broadening by suspending tax relief for moving expenses and employee business expenses for 2018 through 2025.