PolicyLinks
Throughout this section of the website, you can learn about Chainbridge Software’s revolutionary policy analysis system, PolicyLinks. PolicyLinks is the most advanced microsimulation tax policy modeling system available today. This tax policy analysis tool determines how changes to tax policies affect taxpayers by income classification, total revenue and receipts. Our system provides an integrated approach to tax policy simulation. Most importantly, PolicyLinks allows analysts to make changes to policies in an intuitive and simple way. Development of the generalized version began in December of 2001, and the program was in use by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) within seven months. The Alabama PolicyLinks system was developed beginning in late 2002 and ending in the fall of 2003. Successful updates to the Alabama PolicyLinks system were completed in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Development of three major modules of the Connecticut PolicyLinks system were developed in late 2006 and early 2007 with delivery completed in July 2007. System modules are currently in use in the States of Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Rhode Island. The PolicyLinks system enables analysis of the following types of taxes:
The Individual Income Tax Model
The individual income tax module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to generate revenue estimates of individual income tax policy options, presented according to user-defined income classifications for up to fifteen years.
The Corporate Income Tax Module
The corporate tax module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to generate revenue estimates of corporate tax policy options, presented according to user-defined asset or industry classifications. It enables creation of new provisions, including carryover provisions. Simulations may be performed for up to fifteen years.
The Sales and Use Tax Model
The sales, use and excise tax module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to generate revenue estimates of sales, use and excise tax policy options.
The Property Tax Model
The property tax module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to generate revenue estimates of state (and local if desired) property tax policy options. Revenue effects on businesses are measured according property classification by locality. Revenue effects on families are presented on a distributional basis by locality.
The Multi-Tax Incidence Model
The multi-tax incidence module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to combine revenue estimates for more than one tax type to see overall incidence on resident households.
The Revenue to Receipts Conversion Model
The revenue to receipts conversion module of the PolicyLinks system provides analysts with the ability to convert calendar year tax liability to fiscal year receipts.
The Economic Administrator Model
The economic administrator module of the PolicyLinks system provides system administrators with the capability of making changes to the economic forecasts that are used to extrapolate all of the system’s databases in order to keep them current with economic activity.
