Skip to content

Tax Policy Blog

Stay informed with quick and accessible analysis of today's top tax policy topics. Read Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Blog for insight from our experts on tax policies across the U.S. and abroad.

To find our most recent research papers and data, click the links below.

Blog Articles

6143 Results
Design Matters When Raising Taxes to Reduce the Deficit and Stabilize the Debt-to-GDP ratio US debt taxes deficits Gross Domestic Product GDP

What Is GDP and Why Should I Care About It?

GDP stands for gross domestic product and is calculated by measuring a country’s total consumption, government spending, investments, and net exports.

2 min read
Canada digital services tax Canada digital tax proposal health care premiums and Canada marginal tax rates and Canada upward mobility

Another Digital Services Tax in Sight

Canada is planning to join the club of countries that, in the past 3 years, introduced a digital services tax (DST) despite U.S. opposition and concerns expressed by Canadian businesses.

4 min read
Child Tax Credit Reform Debate Continues Tax Cuts and Jobs Act TCJA Expiration and tax policy trade-offs Family Security Act Mitt Romney and Brookings Hamilton Project

Lawmakers Envision Different Paths for the Child Tax Credit

As the TCJA expiration nears, lawmakers face difficult choices in reforming the CTC. While revenue, distributional and economic effects are important, lawmakers should also focus on simplifying the rules and reducing the administrative challenges.

9 min read

Should Massachusetts Tax Netflix?

A bill introduced in the Massachusetts House, (H. 74) would expand funding for community media programming by imposing a new tax on the gross revenues of digital streaming service providers. The sentiment is understandable, but the proposed solution leaves much to be desired.

6 min read
Taxes and illicit trade China cigarette smuggling us tax revenue impact

Taxes and Illicit Trade

Taxation plays a key role in driving illicit trade. People respond to incentives, and sizable price markups for legal cigarettes create incentives for tax avoidance.

4 min read
Tax Foundation logo

Introducing TaxFoundation.org 2.0

Our newly enhanced website will improve accessibility to the very data, research, and experts that make us the world’s leading independent tax policy organization.

3 min read
Barbie the Movie Taxes

Let Mattel You about Barbie’s Taxes

In Greta Gerwig’s new Barbie movie, Barbie’s venture outside of Barbieland introduces her to new experiences. But what about Barbie and taxes?

3 min read

Weeding the Garden of International Tax

Simplifying international tax rules will not solve all the challenges that stand in the way of healthy cross-border investment, but eliminating unnecessary provisions would be a positive pivot relative to the trajectory of recent years. It’s high time that policymakers stopped pursuing ever more complex rules and started the hard work of simplification.

6 min read
IRS budget increase IRS technology modernization and IRS funding for IRS e-filing electronic tax filing

The U.S. Tax Code Is Too Complex for Direct eFile to Work

It is hard to imagine the IRS Direct e-File Program operating seamlessly with the complexity of the current U.S. tax system. Instead, lawmakers should first address the more fundamental problem that causes taxpayer frustration: our highly complicated tax code.

4 min read
EU wealth tax discussion and debate EU wealth tax proposal 2023

The Wealth Tax Discussion Is Back

Given that wealth taxes collect little revenue and have the potential to disincentivize entrepreneurship and investment, perhaps European countries should repeal them rather than implement one across the continent.

4 min read