Definitions for "Tax Expenditures"
Revenue loss attributable to a provision of tax laws that allows special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or provides a special credit, preferential tax rate, or deferral of tax liability.
Revenue losses attributable to provisions of the tax laws that allow special exclusions or deductions or that provide a special credit, preferential tax rate, or deferral of tax liability.
Concessions or exemptions from a "normal" tax structure that reduce government revenue collection and, because the government policy objectives could be achieved alternatively through a subsidy or other direct outlays, the concession is regarded as equivalent to a budget expenditure. Precise definition and estimation of tax expenditures thus require definition of the normal base as well as determination of the most appropriate way of assessing costs (i.e., by revenue foregone or the expenditure required to achieve the policy objective).