Scott Eastman is federal research manager at the Tax Foundation, where he coordinates research production for the Center for Federal Tax Policy. Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Scott was program manager for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s Project for the Study of American Capitalism.
Scott has a master’s degree in economics from George Mason University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Scott’s favorite season is fall and he is a fan of Cornhusker football.
The success of any mark-to-market system lies in its ability to accurately value tangible and non-tangible (or non-tradable) assets such as intellectual property and brand-value recognition. Administrative regulations, guidance, and enforcement are the Achilles’ heel of any plan to annually tax accrued gains.
17 min read
JCT’s report on capital gains elasticities reminds us that capital gains realizations, at least under a tax system that allows deferral, are sensitive to tax rates. Moving to mark-to-market taxation of all capital gains would remove this sensitivity by taxing capital gains annually.
4 min read
Adjusting incomes for price level can substantially change our perceptions of which states are truly rich or poor. Your dollar goes much further in states like Missouri or Ohio than in states like New York or California. What is the relative value of $100 in your state?
4 min read
The Cadillac tax offers one way that policymakers can work to rein in our tax code’s subsidization of the health-care industry, which has increased the price of health-care services.
18 min read
Who are the workers, consumers, and shareholders who interact with businesses in the U.S.? What forms do these businesses take? How do business taxes impact people’s lives? It is essential we answer these questions in order to design a business tax system that is simple, efficient, and enables economic progress.
5 min read
Pass-through businesses are now the dominant business form in the U.S., making up more than half of the private sector workforce in every state. Federal taxes on income set a minimum tax rate for pass throughs, but marginal rates for pass throughs vary based on how states tax individual income.
3 min read
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. However, most U.S. states also tax corporate income. These state-level taxes mean the average statutory corporate income tax rate in the U.S., which combines the average of state corporate income tax rates with the federal corporate income tax rate, is 25.8 percent in 2019.
2 min read
In the U.S. economy, there are tens of millions of businesses, including more than 30 million pass-through businesses and more than a million C corporations. Most output and employment come from firms that provide services to consumers—such as education, health care, and social assistance services—though a large share of output and employment still comes from firms in production industries, particularly manufacturing.
2 min read
More business income is reported on individual tax returns than corporate returns. The U.S. now has fewer corporations and more individually owned businesses. Corporations make up less than 5 percent of businesses but earn 60 percent of revenues.
3 min read
Although Congress intended the AMT to be a tax on wealthy taxpayers, for much of its history it has subjected middle-income taxpayers in high-tax states to heavy compliance burdens. TCJA reforms that have increased the AMT’s exemption and exemption phaseout threshold will shield some taxpayers from the AMT through 2025, but the number of taxpayers impacted will increase in 2026 when the TCJA’s individual income tax reforms expire.
14 min read
Who really bears the burden of federal taxes? How progressive is our current tax system and what role do taxes play in the debate over income inequality?
5 min read