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.
Advances in technology have enabled workers to connect with customers via online platform applications for work ranging from ridesharing to home repair services. The rise of gig economy work has reduced barriers to self-employment, bringing tax challenges like tax complexity and taxpayer noncompliance.
Tangible personal property taxes increase the complexity of state and local tax codes, discriminate against taxpayers based on their capital structure, and change economic behavior by incentivizing taxpayers to modify their property ownership to avoid the tax.
The expenditures offered to small businesses are not created equal. We review the tax expenditures small businesses rely on most.
America’s tax code distorts the economic decision-making of firms, such as the favorable treatment of debt financing over equity. This study adds to this argument while providing motivation for policymakers to focus on how reforms to tax policy can increase American entrepreneurship.
A key element of America’s dynamism problem is a drop in entrepreneurship. Removing tax barriers for entrepreneurs would improve America’s dynamism while making America’s tax code more neutral, efficient, and simple for all taxpayers.
