A “Token Tax” Could Kill the Promise of AI
If we want to ensure that AI raises economic growth, we shouldn’t be pursuing tax policies that are stuck in the past and represent some of the worst ideas from the early internet age.
Expert
Garrett Watson
Vice President of Federal Tax Policy
Garrett Watson is Vice President of Federal Tax Policy with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, the Associated Press and other major outlets.
Previously, Garrett was a program manager at a nearby think tank and conducted policy research on economic opportunity and labor markets, including non-compete clause reform.
Garrett earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, where he studied economics and philosophy. Garrett lives in northwest Arkansas and is an avid hockey fan and snowboarder.
Latest Work
Options to Reform the Tax Treatment of Exempt Hospitals
Nearly half of all hospitals are exempt from paying US corporate income taxes. As healthcare spending rises, lawmakers have questioned whether hospitals are providing as much in community benefits as they derive from tax exemptions.
11 min read
2026 Economics Nobel Laureate Robert Hall Helped Lay Foundation for Pro-Growth Tax Reform
Hall’s research helped economists understand how taxes distort investment decisions, while his work with Rabushka shows how to minimize those distortions. Although the US remains far from a pure consumption tax, Hall’s work informs efforts to reduce the tax burden on investment, improve neutrality, and promote long-run economic growth.
3 min read
Combined State and Federal Corporate Income Tax Rates in 2026
Corporations in the United States pay federal corporate income taxes levied at a 21 percent rate. Forty-four states and DC also levy taxes on corporate income, with top marginal rates ranging from 2.5 percent in North Carolina to 11.5 percent in New Jersey.
2 min read
Proposal to Adjust Tax Treatment of Mutual Funds Improves Neutrality in the Tax Code
The proposed GROWTH Act would make the tax treatment of investment funds more consistent and improve the tax treatment of saving in the US by allowing investors to defer tax on qualifying reinvested capital gains distributions until they sell their fund shares.
6 min read
Three Facts Straightening Out the Debate Over Bonus Depreciation
Expensing for capital investment is not a special tax break. Expensing aligns the timing of tax deductions with the timing of actual capital expenditures so that the tax code does not discourage marginal investment projects.
7 min read
Options Guide Shows the “No Tax On” Deductions Are Costly and Complex
The “no tax on” deductions show the drawbacks of using narrowly tailored provisions to provide tax relief.
6 min read
Getting Crypto Tax Reform Right Means Prioritizing Neutrality
Investment in digital assets, long thought of as a niche interest reserved for enthusiasts, has broken into the mainstream. In 2026, about one in five US adults report being invested in or using cryptocurrency.
5 min read
New Congressional Data Center Tax Proposals Threaten US AI Investment
US policymakers have put forward two new tax proposals to address concerns about how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact land, energy, and the workforce.
7 min read
Overview of the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model
The Tax Foundation uses and maintains a General Equilibrium Model, known as our Taxes and Growth (TAG) Model to simulate the effects of government tax and spending policies on the economy and on government revenues and budgets.
9 min read
After Pandemic Relief Ended, CBO Shows Federal Taxes Remained Progressive in 2022
In 2022, incomes for the bottom 80 percent of earners were slightly lower after taxes and transfers compared to 2020 and 2021, driven by expiring pandemic-era policies.
6 min read
Testimony: The Impact of the 2025 Reconciliation Law’s Tax Changes on Small Businesses and Lessons for Future Tax Reform
Policymakers should broaden and make permanent full expensing for additional asset classes and pursue structural reforms that reduce distortions in how businesses are taxed. A more consistent and predictable policy environment, paired with targeted improvements to loss treatment, R&D incentives, and compliance burdens, would give small business owners greater confidence to invest, hire, and grow.
In 2026, Both Parties Are Dodging the Truth on Taxes
As the policy debate for the next presidential election begins to take shape, both sides need to be honest about their plans for addressing the actual challenges our country faces.
Details and Analysis of the Van Hollen and Booker Tax Cut Plans
Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) have each introduced proposals aimed at cutting taxes for lower- and middle-income taxpayers and raising them on high-income taxpayers.
9 min read
Blog
Short FormWhy Is My Tax Refund Larger This Year?
If you’ve filed your taxes already, you may have noticed a larger refund this year. That’s due to changes Congress made with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) last year that retroactively cut taxes for 2025.
3 min read
How Much Revenue Would Senator Sanders’ Wealth Tax Proposal Really Raise?
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a proposed 5 percent annual wealth tax on billionaires to fund direct payments to Americans and expand social welfare programs.
5 min read
US Taxpayers to See a Nearly $2,300 Average Tax Cut in 2026 Under the Big Beautiful Bill
Notably, the OBBBA makes permanent the individual tax changes first put in place by the TCJA, which avoids a tax hike on an estimated 62 percent of tax filers in 2026.
4 min read
One Big Beautiful Bill Act Tax Policies: Details and Analysis
Our analysis of the major tax provisions included in the OBBBA finds it will increase long-run GDP by 0.7 percent. The major tax provisions will reduce federal tax revenue by nearly $5.2 trillion between 2025 and 2034, on a conventional basis.
12 min read
Tax Refunds and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
When taxpayers file their 2025 tax returns in 2026, many will see larger refunds than in recent years. That’s due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which reduced individual income taxes for 2025 by an estimated $129 billion.
4 min read
2026 Tax Brackets
Explore the IRS inflation-adjusted 2026 tax brackets, for which taxpayers will file tax returns in early 2027.
5 min read