The Statistics of Income Bulletin is a publication that serves as a reliable source of statistical information about the incomes of individuals, corporations and partnerships. The findings from the bulletin are a key indicator of the health of the American economy. Since the SOI provides updated statistics, it provides researchers, policy makers, and the general public with a better understanding of tax compliance activities and tax return filing characteristics across different income levels, including sectors and regions.
The much-awaited 2018 edition of the SOI bulletin with its latest statistics, provides an in-depth analysis and overview of the United States’ tax system. The income bulletin is compiled by the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It contains a plethora of information on various topics such as the income tax compliance statistics, international taxation, corporate taxation, and many others. This bulletin is highly anticipated due to its immensely valuable and insightful information.
Overview of the SOI Bulletin
The SOI bulletin is released annually by the IRS, and it provides us with a comprehensive insight of tax filing activity in the U.S. The SOI statistics, based on the returns of individual taxpayers, businesses and non-profit entities, contribute greatly towards the analysis of the federal tax system. The annual data reports and bulletins are an invaluable resource for education and research for taxpayers, policymakers, government agencies, and scholars who need to understand America’s federal tax system.
The latest SOI Bulletin contains a wealth of information about the trends in tax revenues, taxpayer behavior, and US tax system’s progress and performance in the recent years. The updated statistics offer a complete understanding of various types of income, such as dividends, capital gains, salaries, and compensation.
Personal Income Tax Statistics
The report starts by providing statistics on the number of US income tax returns that are being filed annually. This data helps in the analysis of the compliance behavior of taxpayers. The data shows that income tax returns have increased modestly since 2010, and the total number of returns filed in 2018 was approximately 152 million.
The report also displays data on the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of taxpayers. The report highlighted that the total AGI increased by 5.9% from 2017 to 2018. This can be attributed to the strength of the US economy. The income statistics also showcase the fact that the top 1% of the US taxpayers pay a significantly higher effective federal income tax rate than other groups within the US.
The report further analyzes the tax bracket system of the US, where it reports the percentage of taxpayers falling in different income categories, ranging from incomes of less than $10,000 thousand to those earning over a million dollars annually. The data reveals that the majority of taxpayers, nearly 44.8%, have an income between $50,000 and $200,000. The figures provided in the report help in understanding the income distribution amongst the US taxpayers.
Corporate Income Tax Statistics
The bulletin provides an in-depth analysis of the tax revenues generated from corporations. The revenue reports in the SOI indicate that corporate tax collections are down by 22% since 2010, and have remained stable at around 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the recent years. The study shows that corporate income tax revenue has been largely impacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which brought significant changes to the US tax system. The report highlights the changes to the corporate tax rates under the law from a large rate of 35% to a small rate of 21%.
The Shift in the International Taxation Landscape
The report also sheds light on the international taxation landscape, with a particular emphasis on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s effects on this segment of the US tax system. The report analyses the repatriation of foreign earnings, the impact on controlled foreign corporations, and other international tax policies under the law.
The SOI bulletin highlights that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act decreased the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, which created incentives for US companies to repatriate earnings that were previously kept abroad. The report shows that the foreign earnings repatriated by domestic corporations increased from $51 billion in 2017 to $665 billion in 2018.
Furthermore, the report addresses the controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) and their use by US companies to transfer profits to low-tax countries. The report indicates that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduces a new tax regime known as the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) tax that is aimed at limiting the use of CFCs.
The Future of the US Tax System
The report concludes with an outlook on the future of the US tax system. It highlights that the US tax system continues to evolve rapidly, driven by changing economic factors, demographics, and legislative policies. The report shows that technological advancements may provide useful tools to the IRS and taxpayers alike for tax return preparation and electronic filing.
The report also outlines several challenges that the US tax system faces, including the need for tax simplification and the threat of cybercrime. It provides data on tax planning and the use of tax incentives, as well as the impact of demographic changes and economic shifts on the tax system.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Statistics of Income Bulletin is a highly anticipated and authoritative publication that provides an understanding of US taxpayer behaviors, demographics, and the federal tax System. Its up-to-date statistics make it a vital source of insight for policymakers, researchers, and anyone else interested in the American economy and the tax system. The SOI Bulletin provides an in-depth analysis of the trends of individual and corporate income tax returns that are filed annually and demonstrates the impact of legislative policies on tax regulations. It also highlights the landscape of international taxation and the changing paradigms of the US tax system. The report’s findings may inform future tax policies and reforms that are intended to benefit individual taxpayers, sound businesses, and the US economy as a whole.
On September 24, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service released the Summer 2012 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin. The report contains a large amount of information about sole proprietorships for the 2010 tax year.
The Statistics of Income (SOI) Division under the IRS releases the bulletin every quarter, and the publications include the most updated information and data available on U.S. taxpayers.
The IRS reports that almost 23 million individual income tax returns contained activity within a nonfarm sole proprietorship in 2010. The estimated gross profits on the returns equaled approximately $267.7 billion.
Noteworthy sections of the bulletin are provided below.
Data for Partnerships
·  the filed partnership returns increased by 3.1 percent (or from 3,183,882 to 3,281,985) for the tax years between 2007 and 2009
·  gross receipts for partnerships in the U.S. decreased by 5.7% between 2007 and 2009
Data for Sole Proprietorships
·  the filed sole proprietorship returns decreased by 1.9 percent in the United States from 2007 (24,643,537) to 2009 (24,179,615)
·  the gross receipts reported by sole proprietorships also decreased
Foreign-Controlled Domestic Corporation Data
·  In 2009, 66,197 foreign-controlled domestic corporations reported collective profits of roughly $36.4 billion
·  In 2008, a total of 7,242 corporations claimed a foreign tax credit totaling more than $100 billion against tax liability in the United States
You can download a copy of the Statistics of Income Bulletin at https://irs.gov/taxstats. You can also request a printed copy of the Bulletin from the Superintendent of Documents at the following address:
U.S. Government Printing Office
P.O. Box 371954
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
If you want more information about the data in the Statistics of Income Bulletin, you can write the Director of the SOI Division at the following address:
Director of Statistics of Income (SOI) Division
RAS:S
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 2608
Washing, DC 20013-2608
Source:Â Internal Revenue Service
