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Garrett Watson Tax Foundation
Expert

Garrett Watson

Senior Policy Analyst, Modeling Manager

Garrett Watson is Senior Policy Analyst and Modeling Manager at the Tax Foundation, where he conducts research on federal and state 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

2021 tax season, tax refunds, IRS extends tax filing deadline to May 17

What to Expect During the 2021 Tax Season

The IRS recently announced the extension of tax filing and payment deadlines from April 15th to May 17th to help taxpayers navigating the many tax changes amid the pandemic and give the IRS opportunity to clear its backlog of tax returns and correspondence.

7 min read
Total Covid relief (Total Covid-19 relief) in the US. Total unemployment insurance and total unemployment benefits, including total covid relief families. How much money has the US spent on covid-19 Comparing covid relief packages

U.S. COVID-19 Relief Provided More Than $60,000 in Benefits to Many Unemployed Families

During the pandemic, an unemployment family of four previously earning $60,000 will have received $50,840 in federal and state unemployment benefits from April 1, 2020 to September 6, 2021, plus $11,400 in stimulus payments, plus $7,200 in Child Tax Credit, totaling $69,440 in combined COVID-19 relief benefits.

4 min read
American Families Plan tax proposals American Family Plan Details and Analysis Biden American Families Plan Senate American Rescue Plan direct payments stimulus checks federal covid relief American Rescue Plan tax american rescue plan stimulus payments

Senate Direct Payment Design Would Create High Implicit Marginal Tax Rates

As the Senate debates the relief package and makes progress in the budget reconciliation process, policymakers should keep in mind the trade-off between targeted economic relief and increasing marginal tax rates in the tax code, which can distort incentives to earn income and induce taxpayers to creatively adjust their AGI to receive a payment in the next tax season.

4 min read
2021 combined federal and state corporate income tax rates. 2021 federal and state corporate tax rates. combined corporate income tax ratesDo corporations pay state and federal taxes?

Combined State and Federal Corporate Income Tax Rates in 2021

The state with the highest combined corporate income tax rate is New Jersey, with a combined rate of 30.1 percent. Corporations in Alaska, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania face combined corporate income tax rates at or above 28 percent.

3 min read

Evaluating Proposals to Increase the Corporate Tax Rate and Levy a Minimum Tax on Corporate Book Income

President Biden and congressional policymakers have proposed several changes to the corporate income tax, including raising the rate from 21 percent to 28 percent and imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on the book income of large corporations, to raise revenue for new spending programs. Our new modeling analyzes the economic, revenue, and distributional impact of these proposals.

46 min read
Build Back Better Act: Details & Analysis of the House Ways and Means Committee Tax Proposals Reconciliation Bill Tax, Biden taxes, Biden tax plan, Biden tax increases

Who Benefits from the State and Local Tax Deduction?

Some lawmakers have expressed interest in repealing the SALT cap, which was originally imposed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in late 2017. It is important to understand who benefits from the SALT deduction as it currently exists, and who would benefit from the deduction if the cap were repealed.

6 min read
What is a Tax Refund? Why do I get a tax refund? How much do I owe in taxes? Advance Child Tax Credit Payments IRS Tax Refund Where's my refund? Tax Refund calculator, How much will my tax refund be? Tax withholding calculator, How much taxes did I pay? Form 1040 and W2 IRS tax withholding estimator tool

COVID-19 Relief Package FAQ

The latest $900 billion coronavirus relief bill extends and modifies several provisions first enacted in the CARES Act, Congress’s $2.2 trillion pandemic relief law that was passed in March. With this package, lawmakers will have responded to the coronavirus and related economic hardship with a record-setting $3 trillion of fiscal support.

14 min read