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The Tax Foundation is the world’s leading independent tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For over 80 years, our mission has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.

Our Center for Federal Tax PolicyCenter for State Tax Policy, and Center for Global Tax Policy each produce timely and high-quality research and analysis that influences the debate toward economically principled tax policies. Our experts are continuously analyzing the day’s most relevant tax policy topics and are relied upon routinely for presentations, testimony, and media appearances on tax issues spanning every level of government.

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2366 Results
Amortizing Research and Development Expenses Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act research and development expensing

Amortizing Research and Development Expenses Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Expensing, or the immediate write-off of R&D costs, is a valuable component of the current tax system. The TCJA’s change to amortization in 2022, requiring firms to write off their business costs over time rather than immediately, would raise the cost of investment, discourage R&D, and reduce economic output.

12 min read
Money, The Real Lesson of 70 Percent Tax Rates on Entrepreneurial Income, U.S. tax code progressive tax code, income inequality, Saez and Zucman, income tax rich

The Real Lesson of 70 Percent Tax Rates on Entrepreneurial Income

The fall and then rise of entrepreneurial income claimed on the wealthy’s 1040 tax returns clearly tracks the seeming decline of inequality from 1950 to 1980, followed by the sudden rise in inequality since 1986. The shifting composition of income claimed by the rich due to changes in tax laws explains this illusion.

12 min read
State tax Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI)

GILTI Minds: Why Some States Want to Tax International Income—And Why They Shouldn’t

The new federal tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) is something of a misnomer: it’s certainly global and it’s definitely income, but the rest of it is, at best, an approximation. It’s not exclusively levied on low-taxed income, nor just on the economic returns from intangible property. So what is GILTI, why might states tax it, and what’s the problem with that?

8 min read
qualified opportunity zones, opportunity zone programs, tax cuts and jobs act, opportunity zones, tax incentive, investment

Opportunity Zones: What We Know and What We Don’t

Research suggests place-based incentive programs redistribute rather than generate new economic activity, subsidize investments that would have occurred anyway, and displace low-income residents.

20 min read
trends in state tax policy, 2019 state tax trends

Tax Trends Heading Into 2019

In 2019, key trends in state tax policy include reductions in corporate tax rates, updating sales tax systems to include remote online sales, taxes on marijuana and sports betting, gross receipts taxes, and more. Explore our new 2019 guide!

32 min read