U.S. Government Accountability Office. May 2022. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that collected tax data do not consistently align with household demographics which makes it difficult to analyze the relationship between tax policies and individual characteristics. Researchers noted this disconnect might result in “disparate tax outcomes.”

Tax Equity: Lack of Data Limits Ability to Analyze Effects of Tax Policies on Households by Demographic Characteristics