Money & budgets
tax expenditure
Revenue the government gives up through deductions, credits, exclusions, and preferential rates. Economically a spending program run through the tax code.
In full
The exclusion of employer-paid health insurance, the mortgage interest deduction, and preferential capital gains rates are among the largest. They total well over a trillion dollars a year, more than all discretionary spending, and unlike appropriations they generally continue without annual review, which is why budget analysts insist on counting them.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.