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Tax policy responses to the pandemic should be designed to provide immediate support while paving the way to recovery. A temporary VAT rate cut in the context of an inefficient VAT system is likely to deliver mixed results at best.
4 min read
Seattle’s city council are again gearing up for an effort to increase taxes on the city’s largest employers, intended to generate revenue for cash assistance to low-income households impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, among other reasons.
4 min read
Despite a balanced budget and and revenue shortfalls arising from the coronavirus crisis, the D.C. Council will consider proposals to raise income taxes to fund newly proposed spending projects.
5 min read
One idea that would help the nation’s economic recovery during the coronavirus crisis would be moving to full expensing of capital investment. The depreciation debate might seem confusing, so the question at hand is: how, when, and by what amount can businesses recognize (or recover) the cost of a capital investment, like a piece of equipment or a new warehouse, on their income tax return?
6 min read
While it is understandable that lawmakers and organizers are worried about Colorado’s financial situation, they should remember that narrow taxes are volatile and disrupt markets. Excise taxes can play a role in state revenues even as policymakers appreciate that excise taxes are not viable long-term revenue tools for general spending priorities.
4 min read
As New Jersey lawmakers grapple with reduced revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have turned to an unusual solution: the issuance of bonds that would be repaid, if necessary, through temporarily higher sales and property taxes.
2 min read
The pandemic has left states in dire straits financially and lawmakers are getting creative in their pursuit of new revenue sources. However, it’s unlikely that revenue from sports betting will have any meaningful impact on budget shortfalls
3 min read
What changed in the global economy that disrupted traditional means of taxation? Is it worth finding a way to include tax digital goods and services in the tax base? Why are digital services taxes so problematic? Are there better options—ways to adapt our current system without introducing complex and economically harmful policies?
2 min read
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) expanded its digital service tax investigations, announcing Section 301 investigations into digital tax policies in nine countries and the European Union. The announcement follows an investigation of the French digital services tax that was completed in 2019, after which the USTR threatened significant #tariffs in retaliation against France.
5 min read
Taxes on digital services, digital advertising, and the sale or utilization of consumer data, which were already emerging before the #coronavirus crisis, look increasingly attractive to cash-strapped states and localities.
7 min read
What are the best tax policies to encourage a smooth transition and strong economic recovery? How should goals of economic recovery and growth be balanced with revenue needs?
1 min read
With California’s unemployment rate approaching 25 percent, it is somewhat surprising to find policymakers contemplating a literal tax on jobs.
3 min read
The European Commission announced new budget plans including loans, grants, and some revenue offsets. The proposals follow other support mechanisms for workers and businesses that were designed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic shutdown.
5 min read
Alesina’s work suggests that raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit and national debt would be an economic mistake. The less economically damaging path is to cut spending, what some have called austerity policies.
3 min read
Rather than find ways to restrict net operating loss (NOL) carrybacks, lawmakers should focus on ways to improve liquidity by cashing out accrued NOLs, which would benefit startups and new small businesses without taxable income to offset in prior years.
3 min read
To prevent confusion and to ensure taxpayers receive the full benefit of the extended federal deadline, states should consider extending first- and second-quarter estimated tax payment due dates to July 15 or later.
9 min read
While other states are starting to think about the recovery, California is contemplating tax policies that would stand in the way of economic expansion once the health crisis abates. California’s shortfall is all too real, but tax policies which impede recovery are a hindrance, not a help.
5 min read