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.
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In recent months, several countries have introduced accelerated depreciation as a measure to incentivize private investment, including Australia, Austria, Germany, and New Zealand. There are various ways of how this policy has been implemented in the respective countries, largely depending on the existing standard depreciation schedules.
5 min read
Value-added taxes (VAT) are traditionally considered regressive, meaning they place a disproportionate burden on low-income taxpayers. However, a recent OECD study used household expenditures micro-data from 27 OECD countries to reassess this conclusion.
5 min read
Tax credits like the ones approved in the Nebraska bill may help legislators buy some time to work toward a more permanent solution, but they are not, in and of themselves, an effective means of providing lasting relief or generating long-term economic growth.
7 min readTax treatment can affect investment decisions. Extending expensing treatment (full and immediate deductions) to all forms of capital investment, human and physical, would help facilitate sustainable long-run economic growth.
2 min read
Nevada is not alone in its need to find revenue, but it should take care not to embrace bad tax policy in the process. Significant rate increases, a shift in the tax base, and provisions which make it easier to hike taxes than to cut them would heavily burden the mining industry in the state.
3 min read
What tax policy ideas did Harris propose along the campaign trail, and how do they differ from Biden’s plan?
4 min read
Housing affordability was a major issue even before the COVID-19 crisis, but the current economic situation has made it more salient. Immediate support for people struggling makes sense now, but lawmakers should also consider long-term solutions to the problem of high rents, namely by expanding the supply of housing.
5 min read
First, the introduction of the wealth tax would significantly impact international capital flows and cause large economic dislocations in the short term. Second, provinces that are looking at raising their corporate tax rates might hinder capital attraction, growth, and economic recovery.
4 min read
According to news reports, the Vermont legislature is ready to advance S54 this month or next, to legalize cultivation and sales of marijuana in the state beginning in 2022.
6 min read
Individuals respond to taxes by changing their behavior. Hence, when there are tax differences between countries, some might respond by moving to a lower-tax area. For higher-income individuals, the benefits of moving as a result of higher taxes are greater because they have more income or wealth at stake.
4 min read
When developing tax policy, lawmakers often ignore the incidence of a tax, or who actually pays the tax. Many times, this is different from who is legally required to pay the tax. Just because a 2 percent revenue tax applies to large digital companies does not mean that the companies will bear the entire cost of the tax.
1 min read
Aside from public health concerns, a ban on flavored tobacco, especially when including cigarettes, has significant tax implications and could result in unintended consequences such as increased smuggling. In Massachusetts, more than 20 percent of cigarettes smoked are purchased out of state.
5 min read
On Thursday, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) released the Coronavirus Assistance for American Families Act (CAAF), which would provide payments of $1,000 to adults and children with Social Security numbers, subject to income limits used in the original round of rebates. Among other modifications, it would be more generous to households and families with children when compared to the original rebates distributed under the CARES Act.
5 min read
Brazil has one of the world’s most complex tax systems. Brazil has the opportunity to implement a simple consumption tax and foster tax progressivity at the same time.
5 min read
Today marked the release of second-quarter GDP data and provides a new glimpse into early changes in state and local revenues and spending. All told, second-quarter state and local tax receipts came in about 3.8 percent lower than they did in the same quarter a year ago. Income and sales taxes fell considerably while property and excise tax collections remained stable.
3 min read
New data sheds light on what share of new business investment was eligible for bonus depreciation as it existed before 2017 tax reform, and what share of new investment was excluded from improved cost recovery. This matters because the income tax is biased against investment in capital assets to the extent that it makes the investor wait years or decades to claim the cost of machines, equipment, or factories on their tax returns.
3 min read
A resurgence in coronavirus cases and receding economic activity in many states threaten the nascent economic recovery. To address the ongoing crisis, the Senate Republican Phase 4 proposal builds on the CARES Act provisions while modifying others, including a scaled down federal UI benefit.
8 min read
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crisis, countries in the Asia-Pacific region will see a differentiated impact on their capacity of mobilizing domestic revenue depending on the structure of their economy. According to the OECD report, those economies that rely mostly on natural resources, tourism, and trade taxes are especially vulnerable.
5 min read
Seeking new sources of funding, New York and New Jersey—two states at the heart of global financial markets—are considering financial transaction taxes.
5 min read
While not a short-term measure to alleviate the economic losses resulting from the current crisis, experience from other countries has shown that a tax allowance for corporate equity can be a sensible long-term policy that can strengthen Austria’s investment environment and improve financial stability.
6 min read