Tracking the Impact of the Trump Tariffs & Trade War
The Trump tariffs have not meaningfully altered the trade balance and amount to an average tax increase per US household of $700 in 2026.
55 min readThe Tax Foundation is the world’s leading independent tax policy 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For over 85 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 Policy, Center 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.
Likewise, providing journalists, taxpayers, and policymakers with basic data on taxes and spending has been a cornerstone of the Tax Foundation’s educational mission since its founding. As we wrote in our first edition of Facts & Figures in 1941, “Facts give a broader perspective; facts dissipate predilections and prejudices…[and are] an important step to meet the challenge presented by the broad problems of public finance.”
The Trump tariffs have not meaningfully altered the trade balance and amount to an average tax increase per US household of $700 in 2026.
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How will recent federal tax changes affect you?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Lawmakers can constrain the growth of property taxes without creating new problems. But the details matter.
Our experts explain how this major tax legislation may affect you and how policymakers can better improve the tax code.
24 min read
For Congress, work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is done. But in state capitols, the work has not yet begun. Many of the tax changes in the federal reconciliation act flow through to state tax codes—automatically in some states, and subject to an update in states’ Internal Revenue Code conformity date in others.
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As a rule, an individual’s income can be taxed both by the state in which the taxpayer resides and by the state in which the taxpayer’s income is earned.
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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.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
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New IRS data shows the US federal income tax system continues to be progressive as high-income taxpayers pay the highest average income tax rates. Average tax rates for all income groups remain lower after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
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The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
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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!
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A typical family with four cell phones paying $100 per month for service can expect to pay about $229 per year in wireless taxes, fees, and surcharges. Nationally, these impositions make up about 19.1 percent of the average customer’s cell phone bill.
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The Trump administration has imposed $42 billion worth of new taxes on Americans by levying tariffs on thousands of products. Outstanding threats to impose further tariffs mean additional tax increases up to $129 billion.
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South Carolina is by no means a high tax state, though it can feel that way for certain taxpayers. The problems with South Carolina’s tax code come down to poor tax structure. Explore our new comprehensive guide to see how South Carolina can achieve meaningful tax reform.
16 min read
The IRS recently released its 2019 individual income tax brackets and rates. Check out the new standard deduction, child tax credit, earned income tax credit, rates and brackets, and more.
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Since 1980, the worldwide average statutory corporate tax rate has consistently decreased as countries have realized the negative impact that corporate taxes have on business investment decisions.
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The top 50 percent of all taxpayers pay 97 percent of all individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 3 percent.
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