Kansans May Finally Get a Low, Flat Income Tax
If adopted, these reforms would make Kansas’ tax code substantially more competitive while returning revenue growth to taxpayers in a fiscally responsible manner.
5 min read
Blog Articles
6233 Results
Taxing Life Insurance
As Congress attempts to prevent the expiration of major Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions, it needs to find ways to pay for them. Ideally, it should use the least economically harmful means possible.
3 min read
Oregon Considers Decoupling from the Federal Tax Code
The proposed changes to federal tax code conformity in Oregon are a good example of a change that could significantly reshape the state’s tax code in the future, despite being framed as temporary technical adjustments.
4 min read
South Carolina Lawmakers Have Other Options for Achieving a Flat Income Tax
Lawmakers are right to enact a single-rate individual income tax. However, lawmakers should consider the full effects of the reform, ensuring that relief is not financed by shifting the tax burden to lower-income individuals and families.
4 min read
A Carbon Tax on Cigarettes in Washington State?
Among the many other tax proposals being considered in Washington this year, policymakers have proposed separate bills that would impose a carbon tax on cigarettes and implement a state-wide flavor ban on tobacco products.
3 min read
Trump’s Reciprocal Tariff Calculations Are Nonsense, Will Punish Mutually Beneficial Trade
Despite characterizing the tariffs as “reciprocal,” the White House didn’t actually measure tariffs, currency manipulation, or trade barrier policies employed by other countries. Instead, it drew its estimates from something else entirely: bilateral trade deficits in goods.
7 min read
How Will President Trump’s Tariffs Affect the Value of the Dollar?
President Trump has announced that new tariffs will go into effect on April 2, following several weeks of threats. These new tariffs are likely to be broader in scope than the limited ones implemented thus far. So who is likely to pay for them?
7 min read
A New State Payroll Tax Could Drive Jobs out of Washington
With a wealth tax, property tax increases, and this new payroll tax on the agenda, Washington lawmakers have reason to fear that many employers could be looking for the exits.
5 min read
Discrimination vs. Neutrality: A Case Study in the Middle of a Trade War
Policymakers should aim for neutral tax policies that support stable revenues like VATs and avoid inviting trade conflicts with discriminatory and economically harmful policies like DSTs.
6 min read
Indiana Mulls Local Income and Property Tax Reforms
This legislative session, local taxes are a major topic of debate in Indiana. Although the state’s property tax system is already nationally competitive, dramatic increases in assessed values have created discontent in recent years.
8 min read
Effects of the Federal Constitutional Court’s Judgment on Germany’s Solidarity Surtax
Surtaxes such as Germany’s solidarity surtax run counter to the principles of simplicity and transparency of the tax system because they impose an additional layer of tax on taxpayers and create a more complex tax structure that often obscures the actual tax burden.
4 min read
Maryland Shouldn’t Mandate Worldwide Combined Reporting Through the Backdoor
Maryland’s proposed budget has garnered headlines for many reasons, but another momentous change is flying under the radar: backdoor adoption of potentially mandatory worldwide combined reporting.
6 min read
Montana Lawmakers Should Prioritize Transparency, Neutrality, and Competitiveness When Reforming the Property Tax
Montana’s 2025 legislative session has seen a flurry of property tax reform proposals, a response to the surge in property valuations in the state. Unfortunately, hasty decision-making can result in suboptimal policy outcomes.
6 min read
North Carolina Tries Mimicking Trump’s Tips and Overtime Proposal, But Should Be Cautious
A North Carolina House bill titled “No Tax on Tips, Overtime, Bonus Pay,” is gaining bipartisan traction in the General Assembly, mirroring similar proposals nationwide, including those championed by President Trump.
4 min read
Growth Should Be a Key Consideration if Corporate SALT Is Limited
Lawmakers should prioritize pro-growth tax policies and use the least economically damaging offsets to make the legislation fiscally responsible. If lawmakers choose to use C-SALT, they should carefully consider the economic trade-off with permanent, pro-growth tax cuts that support investment and innovation in the US.
7 min read
Four Paths for Inflation Reduction Act Reforms
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) introduced a series of new targeted tax breaks, many of which seem to be much more expensive than originally forecasted. Understandably, repealing these subsidies is a key option for policymakers looking to pay to extend the expiring broader tax cuts passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
7 min read
Time (or Buying American) Won’t Erase the Economic Harm of Higher Tariffs
Contrary to the president’s promises, the tariffs will cause short-term pain and long-term pain, no matter the ways people and businesses change their behavior.
5 min read
Kansas Policymakers Consider Variations of a Property Tax Levy Limit
As the property tax debate continues in Kansas, two new proposals have emerged that are much better structured, and would be more effective, than the assessment limits. However, policymakers should consider additional modifications.
7 min read
Learning from the First Trade War: Retaliation Hurts US Exporters
As we learned in the first trade war, retaliation will exact harm on US exporters by lowering their export sales—and the US-imposed tariffs will directly harm exporters too. US-imposed tariffs can burden exporters by increasing input costs, which acts like a tax on exports.
4 min read
Picking the Right Budgetary Offsets Key to Tax Reform Success
In a perilous economic and fiscal environment, with instability created by Trump’s trade war and publicly held debt on track to surpass the highest levels ever recorded within five years, a lot rides on how Republicans navigate tax and spending reforms in reconciliation.
6 min read