Blog Articles
More Tax Hikes Than Investment Projects?
Tax hikes implemented in the near term might undermine Spain’s economic recovery. Spain should focus on implementing tax reforms that have the potential to stimulate economic recovery by supporting private investment and employment while increasing its internal and international tax competitiveness.
5 min readNew Research Finds Limited Effects on Taxpayer Behavior from Pass-through Deduction
While proponents of the Section 199A pass-through deduction claimed it would boost investment and critics claimed it would encourage tax avoidance and income shifting, new research casts doubt on both claims.
3 min readImposing New Taxes on Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Will Not Help Texas Economic Recovery
Imposing the rental car excise tax on peer-to-peer car sharing would be a move in the wrong direction by expanding a costly and distortive tax for visitors whose business will help Texans recover post-pandemic.
4 min readTreasury’s Latest Pillar 1 Proposal: A Strategy to Split the Riches or Give Away the Store?
New international tax rules on super-profits would disproportionately impact U.S. companies however they are designed. The question that Treasury should answer is why limit the policy in such a way that magnifies that disproportionate application and the risk to the U.S. tax base.
6 min readBiden’s Corporate Minimum Book Tax Narrows, but Problems and Uncertainties Remain
The corporate tax base should be reformed directly, rather than piecemeal through a complicated and burdensome separate tax applicable to a small number of companies.
5 min readDenying Deductions for Pharma Ads Is Bad Tax Policy
The “End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act” would prohibit companies from deducting the costs of prescription drug advertisements directed at the public. However, the bill’s title is a misnomer: the deduction is not a tax subsidy.
2 min readIMF Tax Proposals: Shrink Inequality or Sink Post-Pandemic Recovery?
To help countries face the pandemic-related financing needs while reducing inequality, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a series of policy recommendations based on a temporary COVID-19 tax, levied on high incomes or wealth.
4 min readBiden’s Tax Plan Would Restore U.S. Exceptionalism—But Not in a Good Way
No other country has tried to enforce some of the policies that the Biden administration is proposing. Embarking on such uncharted course would set the U.S. apart from global tax policy norms and best practices and could harm American competitiveness.
4 min readLeveling Up: The UK’s Super-Deduction and its Regional Divide
As part of the 2021 Budget, the UK introduced a 130 percent super-deduction for plant and equipment for the next two years, meaning that businesses can take a deduction amounting to 130 percent of the costs in the year the investment is made.
4 min readPortland Small Business Owners Facing Weirdly High New Taxes—and It Could Get Worse
Newly implemented county and regional taxes yield state and local top marginal tax rates in excess of 26 percent for many Portland small businesses, and if all of President Biden’s tax proposals were adopted, those owners could face all-in marginal rates of more than 80 percent, far and away the highest in the country going back decades.
5 min readArcane Federal Tax on Sports Betting Is Too Much to Handle
Lawmakers would be well-advised to consider changes to the federal excise tax on sports betting if the industry is to be successful competing against the large illicit market for wagers.
3 min readThe Balancing Act of GILTI and FDII
The tax treatment of intangible assets has come into the spotlight recently with the Biden administration proposing to undo a policy adopted in 2017 to encourage intellectual property (IP) to be located in the U.S.
6 min read14.8% Individual Income Tax and 16.1% Corporate Income Tax Coming To New York City?
Raising rates on those with the most flexibility to leave—or never to return—risks turning those fears into a self-fulfilling prophesy.
3 min readARPA’s Tax Cuts Limitation Is a Problem for More States Than You Think
Tax cut legislation is not just a red state phenomenon, and tax reductions come in many forms other than rate reductions. The American Rescue Plan Act’s state tax cuts limitation is a problem for more states than you think.
2 min readWhy Smoking and Vaping Tax Increases Should Not be Part of West Virginia’s Reform Proposals
In West Virginia, both Senate Republicans and Gov. Justice have offered proposals for reductions to the state’s income tax. In both of the proposals, excise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products are part of the pay-fors that are supposed to make up revenue lost due to lower income tax rates.
4 min readU.S. Effective Corporate Tax Rate Is Right in Line With Its OECD Peers
Whether we use corporate tax collections as a portion of GDP, average effective tax rates, or marginal tax rates, each measure shows that the U.S. effective corporate tax burden is close to or above the average compared to its OECD peers. Raising corporate income taxes would put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, whether one looks at statutory tax rates or effective corporate tax rates.
3 min readCombined 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.
2 min readPresident 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 readCBO 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