Combined Corporate Rates Would Exceed 30 Percent in Most States Under Biden’s Tax Plan
While the focus has been on the federal rate, it is important to include state tax rates when thinking about the total tax burden on corporate income.
3 min read
Blog Articles
6198 Results
President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Raises Taxes on U.S. Production
An increase in the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would raise the U.S. federal-state combined tax rate to 32.34 percent, higher than every country in the OECD, the G7, and all our major trade partners and competitors including China.
6 min read
CBO Study: Benefits of Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Won’t Outweigh $2 Trillion Tax Hike
The economics is clear: If Biden wants to maximize the economic benefits of his $3 trillion in new infrastructure spending, he should cut $3 trillion in other government spending to pay for it.
7 min read
ARPA Allocates $2 Billion to Nonexistent County Governments
The government of Hartford County, Connecticut is in line to receive $173 million in local aid under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). There’s only one problem: the government of Hartford County doesn’t exist, nor do any of Connecticut’s other counties have county-level government despite being allocated a collective $691 million under the bill.
4 min read
A CEO Tax Is the Wrong Way to Help Workers
In an effort to rein in perceived excesses in executive compensation, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and other co-sponsors have proposed to increase a company’s corporate income tax rate progressively based on the difference between median worker pay and CEO pay.
4 min read
Evaluating West Virginia Income Tax Repeal Plans
States which forgo income taxes have seen population and economic growth vastly outstripping their peers, and a post-pandemic culture that is friendlier to remote work will greatly enhance tax competition.
71 min read
Are Excise Taxes on Beverages a Good Substitute for Income Taxes?
Policymakers should be very cautious about relying too heavily on excise tax increases to pay down tax reductions elsewhere. Ideally, revenue offsets would come from more stable, broader-based revenue sources.
4 min read
Congressional Budget Office and Tax Foundation Modeling Show That Some Tax Hikes Are More Damaging Than Others
Some tax hikes are more damaging than others, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and new Tax Foundation economic modeling.
5 min read
How the CARES Act Shifted the Composition of Tax Expenditures Towards Individuals
The increase in expenditures associated with COVID-19 relief is another illustration of using the tax code to administer social spending.
3 min read
A Neutral Tax Code Counts Unemployment Compensation as Taxable Income
Since 1987, unemployment compensation benefits have been subject to federal income tax and, in most states, to state income tax. According to the Congressional Research Service, such treatment—including unemployment compensation benefits in taxable income—is common across industrial nations.
4 min read
The EU Determined to Reform the Business Tax
The EU recently launched a consultation to reform the business tax system, which will outline the priorities for corporate taxation over the coming years to meet the needs of a globalized economy that struggles to recover from the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It will also set EU actions regarding the ongoing international discussion on the taxation of the digital economy and a global minimum tax.
3 min read
Washington State Lawmakers Consider 1,000% Tax Increase on Tobacco Businesses
Limiting addiction to nicotine is a laudable goal, but lawmakers should exercise caution with the methods employed. Using gross receipts taxes on businesses to effectively levy an excise tax introduces complexity to an already flawed tax design. It is better to let the excise tax internalize externalities and the business tax raise general revenue.
3 min read
What to Expect During the 2021 Tax Season
The IRS recently announced the extension of tax filing and payment deadlines from April 15th to May 17th to help taxpayers navigating the many tax changes amid the pandemic and give the IRS opportunity to clear its backlog of tax returns and correspondence.
7 min read
Making the Expanded Child Tax Credit Permanent Would Cost Nearly $1.6 Trillion
As the Biden administration and Congress consider making the expanded child tax credit permanent, a nearly $1.6 trillion expansion of tax code-administered benefits, they should consider financing it in a way that doesn’t create significant headwinds to economic recovery.
3 min read
TCJA Is Not GILTI of Offshoring
Many members of Congress have taken issue with the 2017 tax reform. However, the reasoning that has led some to believe that GILTI provides a path to offshoring investment and jobs is flawed.
6 min read
U.S. COVID-19 Relief Provided More Than $60,000 in Benefits to Many Unemployed Families
During the pandemic, an unemployment family of four previously earning $60,000 will have received $50,840 in federal and state unemployment benefits from April 1, 2020 to September 6, 2021, plus $11,400 in stimulus payments, plus $7,200 in Child Tax Credit, totaling $69,440 in combined COVID-19 relief benefits.
4 min read
Will Pennsylvania Be the First State to Motor Past the Gas Tax?
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has proposed phasing out the gas tax as the main funding mechanism for the state’s highway fund, and he has established a commission to recommend options for replacing it with alternative revenue sources. In a statement, the governor called the current motor fuel tax burdensome, outdated, and unreliable.
5 min read
How GILTI Are U.S. Industries?
Both the Biden campaign and some Democratic members of Congress have recommended changes to GILTI, but before doing that, policymakers should consider how GILTI’s design can have ramifications for many U.S. companies and their tax burdens.
6 min read
Tax Policy Improvements Needed to Help Industries through the Semiconductor Shortage
As lawmakers evaluate how to respond to the global semiconductor shortage, they should consider allowing full cost recovery across all types of capital investment—inventories, machinery and equipment, structures, and R&D.
4 min read
The American Rescue Plan Act Greatly Expands Benefits through the Tax Code in 2021
The major tax-related benefits in the $1.9 trillion economic relief plan are a third round of direct payments, extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and a $10,200 unemployment insurance income exemption for 2020, and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit.
6 min read