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Erica York Tax Foundation
Expert

Erica York

Senior Economist, Research Manager

Erica York is Senior Economist and Research Manager with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. She previously worked as an auditor at a large community bank in Kansas and interned at Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy.

Her analysis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and other national and international media outlets. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Wichita State University and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Economics from Sterling (KS) College, where she is currently an adjunct professor. Erica lives in Kansas with her husband and their two children.

Written Works

2023 Tax Extenders Expiring TCJA Business Tax Provisions and Child Tax Credit Year-End Tax Deal

Tax Extenders in 2023: Three Major Business Provisions and an Expanded Child Credit?

In Congress, both parties have expressed widespread support for improving the treatment of R&D and potentially extending some or all of the major business provisions, while the White House and congressional Democrats have indicated interest in an expanded child tax credit, suggesting potential for a deal.

6 min read
Details and Analysis of Making 2017 Tax Reform Permanent

Details and Analysis of Making the 2017 Tax Reforms Permanent

Lawmakers will have to weigh the economic, revenue, and distributional trade-offs of extending or making permanent the various provisions of the TCJA as they decide how to approach the upcoming expirations. A commitment to growth, opportunity, and fiscal responsibility should guide the approach.

18 min read
USITC Report Highlights Trade-Offs of Using Tariffs United States International Trade Commission Trump Tariffs

USITC Report Highlights Trade-Offs of Using Tariffs

The assessment of the tariffs former president Donald Trump imposed in 2018 and 2019 is clear: the policies have had a negative effect on American’s welfare.

4 min read
Tax Foundation experts analyze ways to rein in the national debt, including US debt and deficits and federal budget and US spending and taxes

How to Rein in the National Debt

Now is the time for lawmakers to focus on long-term fiscal sustainability, as further delay will only make an eventual fiscal reckoning that much harder and more painful. Congressional leaders should follow through on convening a fiscal commission to deal with the long-term budgetary challenges facing the country.

35 min read
State semiconductor incentives and subsidies in the wake of the federal CHIPS Act or CHIPS and Science Act R&D legislation

States Enact Semiconductor Subsidies in the Wake of CHIPS

Policymakers at all levels of government should avoid the pitfalls of incentives. Instead, they should focus on creating a more efficient, neutral, and structurally sound tax code to the benefit of all types of business investment.

6 min read
House GOP Tax Plan: Details & Analysis

The Short Form: Debunking Myths about the Trade Deficit

Politicians often bemoan the trade deficit, but their disdain for this economic statistic is largely misplaced. The trade deficit reflects deeper choices about how we use our money, and reducing it may require lowering our standard of living.

3 min read
GOP presidential debate tax policy issues. comparing tax provisions in different versions of the House Build Back Better plan reconciliation plan (social and climate tax bill)

Tax Policy Questions That 2024 Presidential Candidates Should Address

At least eight Republican presidential hopefuls will take the stage Wednesday night in the first presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle—and the future of the U.S. tax code should be one topic that takes center stage.

4 min read
Distribution of major US individual income tax credits on IRS tax form 1040

Summary of the Tax Credits Claimed on the Form 1040, Tax Year 2020

In tax year 2020, taxpayers claimed more than 159 million tax credits on their individual income tax returns worth a total of more than $277 billion. That was an increase of $35.3 billion from tax year 2019, largely due to an influx of pandemic relief administered through the tax code in 2020.

6 min read
Child Tax Credit Reform Debate Continues Tax Cuts and Jobs Act TCJA Expiration and tax policy trade-offs Family Security Act Mitt Romney and Brookings Hamilton Project

Lawmakers Envision Different Paths for the Child Tax Credit

As the TCJA expiration nears, lawmakers face difficult choices in reforming the CTC. While revenue, distributional and economic effects are important, lawmakers should also focus on simplifying the rules and reducing the administrative challenges.

9 min read
trade analysis tracking the economic impact of tariffs, trade tensions, China tariffs

Tracking the Economic Impact of U.S. Tariffs and Retaliatory Actions

The Trump administration imposed nearly $80 billion worth of new taxes on Americans by levying tariffs on thousands of products, amounting to one of the largest tax increases in decades. The Biden administration has so far kept most of the Trump administration tariffs in place.

12 min read
Details and analysis of the economic growth and opportunity US tax reform plan includes federal flat tax, distributed profits tax, and eliminating the federal estate tax

Details and Analysis of a Tax Reform Plan for Growth and Opportunity

The federal tax code remains a major source of frustration and controversy for Americans, and a hindrance to economic growth and opportunity. Other countries, such as Estonia, have proven that sufficient tax revenue can be collected in a less frustrating and more efficient way.

41 min read

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2020

Reviewing reported income helps to understand the composition of the federal government’s revenue base and how Americans earn their taxable income. The individual income tax, the federal government’s largest source of revenue, is largely a tax on labor.

9 min read