Business Tax Compliance and Complexity

The full cost of a tax system is more than simply the amount of tax paid. It also includes the cost of tax planning and paperwork. Economists call these “tax compliance” costs, and the IRS estimates Americans spend 6.6 billion hours per year filling out tax forms—including 1.6 billion hours on the 1040 form alone.

Featured Research

Location Matters 2021: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business

May 5, 2021

Tax Policy in the First 100 Days of the Biden Administration

April 30, 2021

Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0

April 19, 2021

President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Raises Taxes on U.S. Production

March 31, 2021

Facts and Figures 2021: How Does Your State Compare?

March 10, 2021

Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax Is Unworkably Vague

February 10, 2021

Related Articles

States Consider Digital Taxes Amidst Conflicting Rationales

Location Matters 2021: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business

Tax Policy in the First 100 Days of the Biden Administration

Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0

President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Raises Taxes on U.S. Production

Facts and Figures 2021: How Does Your State Compare?

Join Us for a Free “State Tax Policy Boot Camp”

Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax Is Unworkably Vague

Wisconsin’s PPP Loan Recipients Face Hundreds of Millions in Surprise Taxes

Pandemic Highlights the Need for Better Tax Policy for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses

Taxes and New York’s Fiscal Crisis: Evaluating Revenue Proposals to Close the State’s Budget Gap

What Federal Policymakers Can Learn from Business Tax Refunds in 2020

Poland Borrows an Idea from Estonia’s Tax System, but Misses the Point

Patent Box Regimes in Europe

Potential Regulatory Changes in Tax Policy Under the Biden Administration

Does Your State Have a Throwback or Throwout Rule?

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

Brazil has the Opportunity to Implement a Simple Consumption Tax and Foster Tax Progressivity at the Same Time

National Taxpayer Advocate’s Report Is a Road Map to Simpler Pandemic Relief Provisions

GAO Report Reveals Need to Simplify Next Round of Rebates