Tax Policy Blog

Sweden’s 2021 Budget: Permanent Income Tax Cuts

Sweden’s 2021 budget outlines an aggressive plan to both cut income taxes in a permanent manner alongside multiple other tax cuts and spending increases

Maryland Lawmakers Look to Alcohol for New Revenue

While there are legitimate reasons for increasing and levying excise taxes, legislatures should proceed with caution in the aftermath of the pandemic. Importantly, revenue from increased excise taxes should generally be allocated to spending related to the negative externalities as that revenue is too volatile and unreliable to rely on for long-term budget priorities.

Republican Study Committee Workforce Plan Rethinks Education, Labor, and Welfare Tax Policy

The House Republican Study Committee released a proposal, “Reclaiming the American Dream,” which includes 118 policy recommendations to address education, labor, and welfare policy with the aim of expanding opportunity, liberty, and free enterprise for all Americans.

How Should Wealth and Work Be Treated in the Tax Code?

Joe Biden recently released a piece reviewing his tax proposals, contrasting them with President Donald Trump’s tax ideas. A major theme within this piece can be summarized in the title: “A Tale of Two Tax Policies: Trump Rewards Wealth, Biden Rewards Work.”

More Countries Target the Property Tax

A recent OECD report reveals a tendency towards higher property taxes, often in the form of base broadening, tax rate increases, or both.

An Excise State of Mind

Even during a crisis when budgets are squeezed, policymakers should put their efforts into serious reforms of existing income and consumption taxes rather than leaving good tax policy behind for an excise state of mind.

New York Stock Exchange Signals Willingness to Relocate Servers to Avoid Proposed New Jersey Financial Transaction Tax

As the NYSE prepares to conduct a test of their server capacity elsewhere, New Jersey lawmakers may be forced to rethink the viability of their financial transaction tax proposal.

Senate Republican Coronavirus Package Is Undermined by Complexity & Impermanence

What does the Senate Republican coronavirus package do? Are there better ways of providing short-run relief without making the tax code more complicated?

Biden’s Plan to Address Offshoring Comes with Contradictions

If the goal of the Biden campaign is to bring new investment and jobs to the U.S., it is doubtful that these new tax rules will contribute to that goal.

Russia Proposes Revision of Tax Treaties with the Netherlands, Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg

Proposals to Lure Foreigners to Greece Highlight Need to Reform Property Taxes

A more efficient property tax system in Greece is a better objective than just focusing on incentives for foreigners to change their tax residence.

Biden’s Proposal Would Shift the Distribution of Retirement Tax Benefits

One of Biden’s tax proposals that has gotten little attention is a change that would shift the benefits of tax deferral in traditional retirement accounts toward lower- and middle-income earners. The plan would reduce the tax benefit for those earning above $80,250 but under $400,000, violating Biden’s tax pledge to not raise taxes on earners below the $400,000 threshold.

President Trump Outlines Second Term Tax Ideas

Broad themes of the president’s agenda include providing tax relief to individuals and tax credits to businesses that engage in desired activities, while the status of expiring TCJA provisions and tariffs seems uncertain.

Reviewing Joe Biden’s Tax Vision

Biden’s tax vision is twofold: higher taxes on high-income earners and businesses paired with more generous provisions for specific activities and households.

How the CARES Act Fixed a Tax Bias Against Green Investment

One under-discussed part of the CARES Act, passed in March to provide economic relief during the COVID-19 epidemic, is a correction to a drafting error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, often known as the “retail glitch.”

New Research on the Impact of Energy Taxes and the EU’s Cap-and-Trade System

New Accelerated Depreciation Policies to Spur Investment in Australia, Austria, Germany, and New Zealand

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.

Contrary to Popular Belief, Value-Added Taxes Found to Be Slightly Progressive

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.

Nebraska’s Property Tax Compromise Provides Temporary Relief, but Structural Reform Is Still Needed

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.

Economic Recovery and Deductions for Worker Training

Tax 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.