Daniel Bunn is President and CEO of the Tax Foundation. Daniel has been with the organization since 2018 and, prior to becoming President, successfully built its Center for Global Tax Policy, expanding the Tax Foundation’s reach and impact around the world.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Daniel worked in the United States Senate at the Joint Economic Committee as part of Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Social Capital Project and on the policy staff for both Senator Lee and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). In his time in the Senate, Daniel developed legislative initiatives on tax, trade, regulatory, and budget policy.
He has a master’s degree in Economic Policy from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from North Greenville University in South Carolina.
Daniel lives in Halethorpe, Maryland, with his wife and their three children.
From coast to coast, lawmakers are embracing wealth and millionaires’ taxes. Many of these proposals will face their ultimate test at the ballot box this November, and we should be rooting for these measures to fail.
For many, the OBBBA made tax filing easier and put more money back into their pockets. But it didn’t improve the grade for overall tax complexity for the US. It may actually make the situation worse.
By 2036, more than one out of every four dollars raised in total government revenue will go to pay interest on the debt.
Unlike the IEEPA tariffs, which were stopped by the Supreme Court, the new Sec. 122 tariffs require congressional authorization after 150 days.
The side-by-side agreement is an important step in trans-Atlantic economic relations, however, there is more work to be done—on both sides of the Atlantic. If there’s a downside to the side-by-side agreement, it’s the risk of locking in mediocre tax policy choices for the long run.
Formulary apportionment, global tax harmonization, and broad tax increases on services all face design, implementation, and economic barriers. When designing tax systems, policymakers should focus on doing the basic things well and avoid harmful policies that could stunt growth.
7 min read
A focus on sustained growth, meaningful metrics, and institutional capabilities that keep simplification a focus in future regulatory efforts should underpin the decluttering agenda.
8 min read
Economic policy in 2025 came with historic highs but also disappointing lows.
The Trump administration has rightly shifted its focus from pursuing legislative changes to implementing new permanent rules. But in this shift, it’s crucial that the White House doesn’t lose focus on the larger task at hand.
In this episode, we break down what the OBBBA did, walk through our projections, and zoom out to other defining fights of 2025: Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the Supreme Court challenge over presidential tariff power, and the growing wave of property tax revolts across the states.
Due to the incentive for jurisdictions to implement a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT), Pillar Two leaves a geographic asymmetry. Additional tax revenues would predominantly accrue to low-tax jurisdictions, with high tax jurisdictions receiving little to no increase.
2 min read
New evidence shows the scale and distribution of compliance costs for EU firms affected by Pillar Two, i.e., the “Global Minimum Tax.”
6 min read
Instead of getting stuck in a reactionary posture, European countries should simply aim for competitiveness, and the EU can support that work with stronger, more stable trade relationships.
President Trump’s recent decision to replace the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics has the feeling of replacing the meteorologist and hoping you get better weather. But economic data affect government actions and could have surprising consequences. If nominee E.J. Antoni manipulates the statistics to make Mr. Trump look good, you could end up paying higher taxes.
The agreement represents a major change for tax competition as well, and many countries will rethink their tax policies for multinationals. However, the US will continue to chart its own course, and other countries may prefer to do the same, depending on the final outcome of the G7 statement.
8 min read
While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tries to buoy manufacturing, President Trump’s tariffs are an anvil dragging the sector down.
The administration has a strong desire to boost manufacturing investment and there are many provisions in the new tax bill that support this aim. But the administration’s erratic trade policy is driving up the costs of key inputs that manufacturers rely on to build things in the US.
The European Commission proposed new budget options for 2028 to 2034. It is worth zooming in on one new proposal for revenues that would support EU-level spending. The “Corporate Resource for Europe,” or CORE, provides a good opportunity to think through how best to raise revenue for the EU budget.
5 min read
The One Big Beautiful Bill is now law—but what does it actually do? In this episode, we break down the new tax law’s key provisions, including who benefits, who doesn’t, and what it means for the economy, tax certainty, and the federal deficit.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes many of the individual tax cuts and reforms of the TCJA permanent. It improves upon the TCJA by making expensing for R&D and equipment permanent. However, for the most part, it does not include further structural reforms, and instead introduces many new, narrow tax breaks to the code, adding complexity and raising revenue costs.
7 min read