Will the Federal Government Tax Your State Tax Rebate?
If your state issued tax rebates last year, you might have to pay federal income tax on the rebate you received. Maybe. Who knows? Unfortunately, not the IRS—at least not yet.
5 min read
Blog Articles
6173 Results
Tax Policy in Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address
President Biden’s State of the Union Address outlined three tax proposals, including raising the tax on stock buybacks, imposing a billionaire minimum tax, and expanding the child tax credit.
6 min read
New Tax Expenditures Report Highlights Concerning Changes in Tax System
A new tax expenditures report by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reveals two problematic developments: 1) policymakers have increasingly relied on the tax code to deliver benefits to individuals, and 2) the broad, neutral tax treatment of investment has shifted to targeted subsidies for businesses.
4 min read
There’s Still Room for Responsible State Income Tax Relief in 2023
Forty-three states adopted tax relief in 2021 or 2022—often in both years—and of those, 21 cut state income tax rates. It’s been a remarkable trend, driven by robust state revenues and an increasingly competitive tax environment.
4 min read
State Tax Policy as an Inflation Response
At the end of 2022, prices were 14.6 percent higher than they were two years prior. That’s the fastest inflation rate over any two calendar years since the stagflation era of the late 1970s. State policymakers are understandably interested in bringing any tools at their disposal to bear on the problem. And many of them are reaching for tax policy solutions.
7 min read
Fair Tax FAQ
The FairTax is a proposal to replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income tax, corporate income tax, estate and gift taxes, and payroll tax—with a national sales tax and rebate, abolishing the IRS in the process.
7 min read
New York’s Proposed Cigarette Tax Hike and Flavor Ban Will Fuel Illicit Markets and Decrease Revenue
Earlier this month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) proposed increasing the state’s cigarette tax rate by $1.00 a pack, banning the sale of flavored vaping products, and ceasing the sale of all flavored tobacco products. If enacted, these policies would fuel black markets and create a fiscal hole for the state to fill, all while hurting New York businesses and consumers.
4 min read
What the OECD’s Pillar Two Impact Assessment Misses
The process leading to the global minimum tax has been messy, and the mess will likely continue for years to come. New revenues are hardly a salve for the setback they represent.
7 min read
West Virginia Is Being Left Behind on Tax Relief
West Virginia is one of only seven states that hasn’t offered any significant tax relief since 2021—and five of the other six forgo an individual income tax.
6 min read
Iowa Proposal to Rein in Property Taxes Misses the Mark
On the heels of adopting one of the most comprehensive state tax reform packages in years, Iowa lawmakers are back in Des Moines with property tax relief in their sights. But while the issue is worthy of their attention, House File 1 (HF 1) as currently drafted misses the mark.
4 min read
Pursuing Delors’ Single Market: What the EU Gets Wrong About Its Economic Power and What It Means for the U.S.
Before EU policymakers rush to implement massive reforms, they should remember the goals of the Single Market, its international limitations, and the role of tax policy.
4 min read
Georgia Should Reinforce Its Tax Reform Intentions
By shifting to a flat income tax, Georgia has already made an important commitment to tax competitiveness. Although the state’s top rate threshold is already very low, a true single-rate income tax will help protect taxpayers from inflation-related tax increases and provide a buffer against rising tax rates in the future. To combine responsible rate reductions with these benefits, Georgia should create tax triggers that empower the state to keep pace with its competition.
3 min read
Frustration and Delays as the 2023 Tax Filing Season Begins
A combination of long-standing IRS operational deficiencies, the agency’s temporary closure due to the pandemic, and the now-expired pandemic relief produced a perfect recipe for a paper backlog.
4 min read
Wealth Tax Proposals Are Back as States Take Aim at Investment
In a coordinated effort, lawmakers in seven states that collectively house about 60 percent of the nation’s wealth—California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Washington—are introducing wealth tax legislation on Thursday.
7 min read
Three Reasons Why Dynamic Scoring Still Matters
Lawmakers should use the most comprehensive analytical tools available to them—like dynamic scoring—to make informed decisions about policy changes.
5 min read
In the Shadow of T-TIP: Why Congress Should Care About EU Tax and Trade Issues in 2023
The EU’s unilateral approach with carbon taxes, faster track on the global minimum tax, and threat of renewed efforts on DSTs means that U.S. policymakers face some hard choices. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic should keep in mind pro-growth tax and trade principles that promote a rules-based international order and increase opportunity.
7 min read
Taxes in Everything: Die Hard Edition
It’s Christmas time, and for millions of families around the country, that means revisiting some classic holiday movies. For some, that includes It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone. For others, that includes Die Hard.
3 min read
Improved Tax Treatment of Saving Included in Year-End Federal Spending Deal
The year-end omnibus federal spending package makes a number of reforms to retirement savings accounts.
3 min read
Digital Services Taxes: Is There an End in Sight?
As it stands, Pillar One would usher in the end of many digital services taxes (though perhaps not all) at the cost of increased complexity (in an already complex and uncertain system).
4 min read
Would Americans Make Charitable Donations without Tax Incentives?
Over the long run, tax policies that grow after-tax incomes and the economy do more to boost charitable giving than policies that try to incentivize people to be charitable.
9 min read