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.

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Latest Work

Real purchasing power parity by state, city, and county 2023 most expensive us cities and metros
Data

Real Value of $100 by Metropolitan Area, 2023

The differences in purchasing power can be large and they have significant implications for the relative impact of economic and tax policies across the United States.

3 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
Research

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
Blog

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
trade deficit and us trade and tax policy analysis
Blog
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.

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

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
Blog

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
Data

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.

10 min read
Inflation Reduction Act Medicare Prescription Drug Price Controls
Blog

Inflation Reduction Act’s Price Controls Are Deterring New Drug Development

As predicted, the Inflation Reduction Act’s misguided price-setting policy is already discouraging drug development. Rather than double down on it, as President Biden proposes doing in his budget, lawmakers ought to restore incentives to invest in the United States.

5 min read
Deteriorating federal budget deficits highlight need to stabilize federal debt. See federal deficit taxes contextualized amid push to balance the budget
Blog

Deteriorating Federal Budget to Run $1.4 Trillion Deficit in 2023, CBO Projects

Immediately balancing the $20 trillion budget shortfall would take drastic, unwanted policy changes. Instead, lawmakers should target a more achievable goal, such as stabilizing debt and deficits with an eye toward comprehensive tax reform that can produce sufficient revenue with minimal economic harm.

4 min read