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Erica York Tax Foundation
Expert

Erica York

Senior Economist, Research Director

Erica York is Senior Economist and Research Director 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.

Latest Work

corporate alternative minimum tax corporate amt or corporate minimum tax build back better additional relief for coronavirus, additional stimulus payments

Additional Pandemic Relief Might Be Taking Shape

With days left until government funding runs out, congressional lawmakers are down to the wire to fund the government and provide additional pandemic-related relief to the households and businesses trying to make it through the winter.

3 min read
Permanent Build Back Better middle class tax hike Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Tax Reform

Outlining a Path for Tax Policy Compromises

While a sweeping tax policy bill is unlikely in the near future, lawmakers may be able to come together on a smaller scale. Pairing better cost recovery on a permanent basis with support for vulnerable households as well as additional pandemic-related relief would help promote a more rapid return to growth and help businesses and households weather the ongoing crisis.

4 min read
Trump Tax Cuts Benefited Who? Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered effective tax rates across income levels, Trump Tax Cuts Middle Class

A Preliminary Look at 2019 Tax Data for Individuals

The latest IRS data continues to illustrate that the net effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was to reduce effective tax rates across income groups. In 2019, the TCJA again expanded the use of several deductions and credits, made the standard deduction more favorable than itemizing, and lowered taxes for most taxpayers.

4 min read
Biden’s tax plan would be the one of the largest tax increase since the 1940s and one of the largest tax increases not associated with wartime funding, Biden's tax plan in historical context

Placing Joe Biden’s Tax Increases in Historical Context

If we consider Biden’s tax plan over the entire budget window (2021 to 2030) as a percentage of GDP—1.30 percent—it would rank as the 6th largest tax increase since the 1940s and and one of the largest tax increases not associated with wartime funding.

6 min read
us jobs lost during coronavirus, us jobs coronavirus us layoffs, US jobs data, US economy covid-19

Role of the 2017 Tax Reform in the Nascent U.S. Economic Recovery

While there is still plenty of work to be done to get unemployed Americans back to work, the U.S. economy as a whole is now recovering strongly from the pandemic-induced economic downturn, outperforming forecasts from earlier in the year and outperforming most other developed countries.

4 min read
CARES Act, Senate Coronavirus bill, Senate Coronavirus relief, Senate Coronavirus Aid

Reviewing the Commitment to American GROWTH Act

House Republicans recently introduced HR 11, the Commitment to American GROWTH Act, outlining an alternative to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s tax vision. The proposal would address upcoming expirations of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and create or expand other tax provisions designed to boost domestic investment.

5 min read
emergency savings accounts retirement savings accounts Build Back Better plan inflation Build Back Better plan deficit carbon tax reconciliation hr3 tax prescription drugs tax help pay for reconciliation, revenue for federal government retirement savings federal reform proposals SECURE Act Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021

CBO Releases New Long-term Budget Outlook

The pandemic precipitated the steepest decline in economic output and employment in recent history, which is leading to a drop in tax revenue. At the same time, the federal response to the crisis is producing a large increase in spending. This combination will cause the federal budget deficit to spike.

5 min read
President Trump tax plan and proposals second term

President Trump Outlines Second Term Tax Ideas

Broad themes of the president’s agenda include providing tax relief to individuals and tax credits to businesses that engage in desired activities, while the status of expiring TCJA provisions and tariffs seems uncertain.

4 min read
Biden Made in America manufacturing plan to boost R&D

Reviewing Joe Biden’s Tax Vision

Biden’s tax vision is twofold: higher taxes on high-income earners and businesses paired with more generous provisions for specific activities and households.

4 min read

Economic Recovery and Deductions for Worker Training

Tax treatment can affect investment decisions. Extending expensing treatment (full and immediate deductions) to all forms of capital investment, human and physical, would help facilitate sustainable long-run economic growth.

2 min read
Senator Harris’s Rent Relief Tax Credit is a Well-Intentioned Misfire

Estimating Neutral Cost Recovery’s Impact on Affordable Housing

Housing affordability was a major issue even before the COVID-19 crisis, but the current economic situation has made it more salient. Immediate support for people struggling makes sense now, but lawmakers should also consider long-term solutions to the problem of high rents, namely by expanding the supply of housing.

5 min read

Improved Cost Recovery Is A Wide-Ranging Policy Solution

Rather than limit improvements to certain sectors, lawmakers could pursue a broader policy of full expensing for all capital investment and neutral cost recovery for structures and clear the tax policy hurdles that currently stand in the way of private investment.

3 min read