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State and Local Sales Tax Rates in Major Cities 2024 Sales Tax Rates by City

Sales Tax Rates in Major Cities, Midyear 2024

While many factors influence business location and investment decisions, sales taxes are something within policymakers’ control that can have immediate impacts—especially as a large number of major cities have combined rates of 9 percent or more.

6 min read
American retirement savings accounts including 401k and IRA contribution and withdrawals

American Retirement and Tax-Preferred Savings Accounts, Tax Year 2018

To encourage greater saving, the US federal income tax provides tax-neutral treatment to some types of saving through a variety of accounts. The type of tax treatment, contribution limits, withdrawal rules, and use cases for contributions all vary by account, leading to a complicated system for households to navigate.

11 min read
Gas Taxes in Europe 2024 Gas Taxes and Diesel Taxes in Europe Fuel Tax Rates

Diesel and Gas Taxes in Europe, 2024

Gas and diesel taxes continue to be prominent policy issues throughout Europe. As the EU undergoes sweeping changes for its green transition, fuel taxes are likely to be a crucial aspect of policy discussions.

3 min read
US Infrastructure and US Transportation Funding for Highways Vehicle Miles Traveled VMT Tax

Expanding User Fees for Transportation: Roads and Beyond

By 2034, the gas tax and other car-related excise taxes are projected to raise less than half of the Highway Trust Fund’s outlays. While broader tax and spending reforms are necessary for overall deficit reduction, improving transportation funding would be a crucial step forward.

34 min read
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We are the world’s leading nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit.

The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading nonpartisan tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For over 80 years, our mission has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.

Our vision is a world where the tax code doesn’t stand in the way of success. Every day, our team of trusted experts strives towards that vision by remaining principled, insightful, and engaged and by advancing the principles of sound tax policy: simplicity, neutrality, transparency, and stability.

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Featured Work

2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

2024 State Business Tax Climate Index

In recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue, our Index focuses on how state tax revenue is raised, not how much. The rankings, therefore, reflect how well states structure their tax systems.

111 min read

International Tax Competitiveness Index 2023

While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.

88 min read
2023 European Tax Policy Scorecard Tax Foundation Europe

2023 European Tax Policy Scorecard

The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.

52 min read
Tax Education - girl in classroom

TaxEDU is designed to advance tax policy education, discussion, and understanding in classrooms, living rooms, and government chambers. It combines the best aspects of cutting-edge and traditional education to elevate the debate, enable deeper understanding, and achieve principled policy.

TaxEDU gives teachers the tools to make students better citizens, taxpayers a vocabulary to see through the rhetoric, lawmakers crash courses to write smarter laws, and videos and podcasts for anyone who wants to boost their tax knowledge on the go.

  • Glossary

    Understand the terms of the debate with our comprehensive glossary, including over 100 tax terms and concepts.

  • Videos

    Our animated explainer videos are designed for the classroom, social media, and anyone looking to boost their tax knowledge on the go.

  • Educational Resources

    Our primers, case studies, and lesson plans form a comprehensive crash course ready for the classroom.

  • Podcast

    The Deduction, a Tax Foundation podcast, is your guide to the complicated world of tax and economics.

  • Principles

    Learn about the principles of sound tax policy—simplicity, transparency, neutrality, and stability—which should serve as touchstones for policymakers and taxpayers everywhere.

  • Legislative Courses

    Our Tax Foundation University and State Tax Policy Boot Camp lecture series are designed to educate tomorrow's leaders on the principles of sound tax policy.