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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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 readThe HEROES Act adds to the confusion and instability already inherent in the tax code with multiple expiring provisions and reduced filing guidelines.
4 min read
Lawmakers can help expedite their state’s economic recovery by protecting employers from facing higher unemployment insurance tax rates at a time when they can least afford to pay them.
8 min read
The HEROES Act would make notable expansions to all three dependent-related credits, increasing maximum credit amounts, refundability, and income eligibility phaseouts. Practically, this means that certain filers could expect to receive a larger refund for each additional hour of work, eligible dependent, and dependent care expenses if the bill became law.
5 min read
The SMART Act, sponsored by Senators Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, would provide $500 billion in flexible funding to state and local governments.
6 min read
As stated by Rep. Jack Kemp in 1985, “Neutral cost recovery is designed to provide the present value of investment expensing without some of its practical problems.”
5 min read
The Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model suggests that allowing businesses to immediately deduct or “expense” their capital investments in the year in which they are purchased delivers the biggest bang for the buck in spurring economic growth and jobs compared to other tax policies.
7 min read
State recovery plans should lessen the burden on businesses by shifting from capital stock taxes and other taxes that are charged regardless of profitability. Louisiana does well to target its Corporation Franchise Tax, a burdensome tax that would target businesses that may already be struggling.
2 min read
The HEROES Act, the $3 trillion relief package proposed by House Democrats, is the first bid to provide additional phase 4 aid for businesses and individuals amid the coronavirus pandemic.
7 min read
Revenue shortfalls and deficits can be addressed best by considering when to consider the deficit as the primary priority and reevaluating how revenue can be raised most efficiently through sound tax policy principles.
5 min read
The HEROES Act, proposed by House Democrats as a next round of fiscal relief during the coronavirus outbreak, contains about $1.08 trillion in aid to states and localities. That would bring the pandemic total to $1.63 trillion—an amount so large that it might overwhelm their ability to spend it and could reward fiscal irresponsibility.
8 min read
The HEROES Act would provide more than $1 trillion to state and local governments. Here’s how funding would be distributed and provisional estimates of how much aid each state would receive.
5 min read