Does the Federal Tax Code Privilege the Rich?
The federal income tax drives the tax code’s progressivity. In 2021, taxpayers with higher incomes paid much higher average income tax rates than taxpayers with lower incomes.
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The federal income tax drives the tax code’s progressivity. In 2021, taxpayers with higher incomes paid much higher average income tax rates than taxpayers with lower incomes.
4 min read
With state tax revenues receding from all-time highs, there’s been a great deal of handwringing about whether states can afford the tax cuts adopted over the past few years. Given that 27 states reduced the rate of a major tax between 2021 and 2023, is there reason for concern?
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Given that U.S. debt is roughly the size of our annual economic output, policymakers will face many tough fiscal choices in the coming years. The good news is there are policies that both support a larger economy and avoid adding to the debt.
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By violating the principles of simplicity, neutrality, and stability, and failing to raise significant revenue, worldwide combined reporting at the state level is doomed to fail.
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The “Bring Chicago Home” ballot measure would make Chicago’s tax structure substantially less neutral by raising taxes on some property transfers while decreasing taxes on others.
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Portugal’s turnover tax on real property transfers places a serious drag on economic growth by making it harder for people to relocate for better jobs and living conditions while constraining investment into the development of housing and buildings.
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Do taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
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In his FY 2025 budget, Illinois Gov. Pritzker outlined a number of proposed tax changes, including to individual and corporate income taxes, state sales taxes, and sports betting excise taxes.
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A tax based on alcohol content would be the most neutral, straightforward means of raising revenue from alcohol. But since such a tax would constitute a redesign of the entire alcohol tax system at both the state and federal levels, the next best approach is to create more categories for new products.
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Though providing permanent R&D expensing alone would not be a China-competition magic bullet, it is a no-brainer place to start. In this technological race, we should first make sure we have not tied our own shoes together.
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Vermont lawmakers are considering the adoption of two new taxes on high earners, which proponents have branded “wealth taxes.”
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Don’t be fooled by tax myths and misconceptions this tax filing season.
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Portugal has the second highest top corporate tax rate in the OECD at 31.5 percent, including multiple top-up taxes. Unlike most OECD countries, Portugal imposes a highly progressive tax structure on corporate income.
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Expanding Virginia’s sales tax base to include B2B digital transactions could lead to tax pyramiding, hide the true cost of government, and make the sales tax system much less neutral and transparent.
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Creative options including changes in Social Security benefits growth for higher earners and reforms to how Medicare compensates for health services should be on the table, along with broad-based and well-structured tax reforms.
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Pillar Two, the international global minimum tax agreement, has a considerable chance of failing and may ultimately allow the same problems it was designed to address.
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What does it mean to be an American company?
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The pandemic led to one of the largest fiscal responses in U.S. history, impacting households across the income distribution.
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Working from home is great. The tax complications? Not so much.
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The landscape of tax policy is changing—and we at the Tax Foundation are changing with it.
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