Tax Expenditure: a program of government spending through the tax code, including exemptions, deductions, or credits to select groups or specific activities.
Sunset Provision: a measure that creates a terminal date for statutes, agencies, etc., upon which Congress must either enact new legislation to keep the law, or it will automatically expire.
With the exception of the Bush tax cuts, most tax expenditures do not come with an sunset provision. This is a major flaw in our economic policy, as many of these expenditures are not reviewed for continued efficacy. By amending the constitution to create an automatic sunset provision for tax expenditures, it forces Congress to reevaluate deductions, exemptions, and tax credits to ensure they are serving a purpose.