Tax Expenditures: Current Issues and Five-Year Budget Projections for Fiscal Years 1984-1988 published by Congressional Budget Office (10/1983).
Since the tax expenditure concept was first developed in the 1960s, the United States and several other countries have found that it can be a useful tool for government budgeting and policy analysis. When all the tax expenditure provisions are shown in one place, policymakers can make decisions with a better understanding of the total allocation of government resources among policy objectives, economic sectors, and categories of beneficiaries. By providing information on the amount of government subsidy delivered through the tax system, tax expenditure lists correspond to the listings of outlay programs in federal budgets. Review of both direct subsidies and tax expenditures may be especially useful when a government is seeking to reduce large federal deficits.
