New Research Shows Positive Long-Run Effects from Corporate Tax Cuts
Policymakers should continue to focus on longer term impacts rather than emphasizing the short-term stimulus effects of tax cuts.
3 min read
Expert
Alex Durante
Senior Economist
Alex Durante is an Senior Economist at the Tax Foundation, working on federal tax policy and model development. He previously served as a Taxes and Growth Fellow at the Tax Foundation from 2015 to 2016.
Alex worked as a research assistant for three years at the Federal Reserve Board on a household survey, where he coauthored reports on the “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.” From 2018 to 2019, he served as a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers, working primarily on trade policy and contributing economic analysis to the “Economic Report to the President.” He holds a BS in Economics from The College of New Jersey and an MS in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Originally from New Jersey, Alex currently lives in Washington, D.C. His hobbies include tennis, boxing and mixed martial arts, and playing bass and drums.
Latest Work
How Tariffs and the Trade War Hurt U.S. Agriculture
With inflation continuing to skyrocket, especially for food, which reached 10.4 percent in June, it is worth examining how the ongoing U.S. trade war with China and U.S. tariff policy overall has impacted U.S. agriculture and food prices.
3 min read
Biden and OECD Tax Proposals Would Hurt FDI
Academic research indicates foreign direct investment (FDI) is highly responsive to the corporate effective tax rate (ETRs); that is, the tax rate after accounting for all deduction and credits available to corporations.
3 min read
Trends in FDI Before and After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Overall, the data shows outbound FDI shifted from low-tax to other jurisdictions, while inbound FDI remained largely unchanged.
3 min read
How FDI Adds Value to Supply Chains
Although the dispersion of our supply chains throughout the world has been scrutinized in recent years, both inbound and outbound foreign direct investment are critical to sustaining supply chain resiliency and reducing economic risks for both firms and investors.
5 min read
Why FDI Matters for U.S. Employment, Wages, and Productivity
Contrary to the Biden administration’s claims, raising taxes on cross-border investment would hurt U.S. economic growth and jobs. Research shows that FDI creates jobs in the U.S. and raises workers’ wages and productivity.
5 min read
U.S.-China Trade War Hurt American Industries and Workers
While the U.S. tariffs were intended to protect American industries, they have largely hurt the U.S. economy. Rather than pass on the tariffs to Chinese consumers, analysis shows that most U.S. firms simply bore the costs.
5 min read
Comparing the Corporate Tax Systems in the United States and China
Federal policymakers are debating a legislative package focused on boosting U.S. competitiveness vis-a-vis China; however, it currently contains little to no improvements to the U.S. tax code.
34 min read
The Misguided Notion of Government-Set Prices for Prescription Drugs
Government-set pricing of prescription drugs is not a fix for today’s rampant inflation and further, it would give rise to new problems of its own.
6 min read
Biden Budget Would Raise Income Tax Rates to Highest in Developed World
The FY 2023 budget proposes several new tax increases, which in combination with the Build Back Better Act, would give the U.S. the highest top tax rates on individual and corporate income in the developed world.
4 min read
Biden’s Trade Agenda Should End the Trade War and Promote Free Trade
The Biden administration should lift the Trump administration’s tariffs, as they have failed in their objective to bring better trading practices and instead brought about significant damage to U.S. businesses and workers.
6 min read
Taxes, Tariffs, and Industrial Policy: How the U.S. Tax Code Fails Manufacturing
Policymakers actively marginalized the manufacturing sector by saddling them with cost recovery rules that prevent them from deducting the full cost of investment in physical plant and equipment. Going forward, policymakers should avoid haphazard fixes, targeted measures, and protectionism.
50 min read
10 Tax Reforms for Growth and Opportunity
By reducing the tax code’s current barriers to investment and saving and simplifying its complex rules, lawmakers would greatly enhance the ability of Americans to pursue new ideas, create more opportunities, and build financial security for themselves and their families.
40 min read
U.S. Fiscal Response to COVID-19 Among Largest of Industrialized Countries
As the U.S. grapples with rising price inflation, a large and growing national debt, as well as a possible economic slowdown due to Omicron, the decision to provide additional fiscal support will prove to be a difficult one. Policymakers can debate how much stimulus is appropriate, but what is clear is that the U.S. fiscal support so far during the pandemic outranks nearly every industrialized country.
3 min read
Who Really Pays the Tariffs? US Firms and Consumers, Through Higher Prices
The bulk of economic evidence shows for most of the new tariffs imposed under the Trump administration, US firms or consumers bore 100 percent, or even more, of the burden through lower profits or higher retail prices.
5 min read
House Build Back Better Act: Details & Analysis of Tax Provisions in the Budget Reconciliation Bill
Learn more about the House Build Back Better Act, including the latest details and analysis of the Biden tax increases and reconciliation bill tax proposals.
15 min read
Bonus Depreciation Helps Disadvantaged Workers, Study Finds
Low-skilled workers have been the hardest hit by the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. When deciding on bonus depreciation, which is currently set to expire in 2026, policymakers should remember that disadvantaged workers would be the most likely to benefit from making it permanent.
2 min read
Business Tax Collections Within Historical Norm After Accounting for Pass-through Business Taxes
When looking at the tax burden on businesses over time, it is important to provide a complete picture by accounting for the different types of businesses in the U.S. and the timing effects of the 2017 tax law. Doing so provides important context on existing tax burdens and for considering the impact of raising taxes on corporations and pass-through firms.
3 min read
Top Tax Rate on Personal Income Would Be Highest in OECD under New Build Back Better Framework
Under the latest iteration of the House Build Back Better Act (BBBA), the average top tax rate on personal income would reach 57.4 percent, giving the U.S. the highest rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
2 min read
Lawmakers Consider Untested and Complex Policies to Fund Reconciliation Bill
Congress is debating new ways to raise revenue that would make the tax code more complex and more difficult to administer. The new proposals—imposing an alternative minimum tax on corporate book income, applying an excise tax on stock buybacks, and, at one point this week, a tax on unrealized capital gains for billionaires—are unreliable and highly complex ways to raise revenue.
10 min read