The mission of our federal program is to promote tax and fiscal policy that leads to greater U.S. competitiveness, higher economic growth, and improved quality of life for all taxpayers.
We have several projects, such as the Growth and Opportunity Agenda and Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code, which help us educate taxpayers, journalists, and policymakers on how the U.S. tax system works and the impact of federal tax changes on taxpayers and the economy.
Our Center for Federal Tax Policy hosts Tax Foundation University, a crash course designed to educate congressional staff on the economics of tax policy. Our experts are also a go-to source in the media and are frequently cited in top outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. See Our Experts
Since 2012, we have used our Taxes and Growth (TAG) macroeconomic model to analyze dozens of legislative and campaign tax proposals, including every major tax plan put forth during the 2016 presidential campaigns, the House GOP’s 2016 Tax Reform Blueprint, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and President Biden’s tax reform agenda. See Our Economic and Tax Modeling
For a look at where tax modeling started, explore the extensive body of work from the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation (IRET), the think tank that pioneered dynamic tax modeling. Explore the IRET Archives
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Trump’s Tax Plans 2024 Tax Plans
Cost Recovery | Taxes & Inflation | Taxes on Savers & Investors | Tariffs & Trade | Carbon Taxes
Policymakers should have two priorities in the upcoming economic policy debates: a larger economy and fiscal responsibility. Principled, pro-growth tax policy can help accomplish both.
21 min read
Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026.
3 min read
This tax reform plan would boost long-run GDP by 2.5%, grow wages by 1.4%, and add 1.3M jobs, all while collecting a similar amount of tax revenue as the current code and reducing the long-run debt burden.
39 min read
Now is the time for lawmakers to focus on long-term fiscal sustainability, as further delay will only make an eventual fiscal reckoning that much harder and more painful. Congressional leaders should follow through on convening a fiscal commission to deal with the long-term budgetary challenges facing the country.
35 min read
A growing international tax agreement known as Pillar Two presents two new threats to the U.S. tax base: potential lost revenue and limitations on Congress’s ability to set its own tax policy.
39 min read
A major case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court (Moore v. United States) is calling into question provisions on large portions of the U.S. tax base which could quickly become legally uncertain, putting significant revenue at stake.
7 min read
Taxes and their broader impact are generally overlooked in American education. Taxes influence earnings, budgets, voting, and decisions on where to live, but do American taxpayers understand the US tax system?
25 min read
On tax policy, Harris carries forward much of President Biden’s FY 2025 budget, including higher taxes aimed at businesses and high earners. She would also further expand the child tax credit (CTC) and various other tax credits and incentives while exempting tips from income tax.
17 min read
We estimate Trump’s proposed tariffs and partial retaliation from all trading partners would together offset more than two-thirds of the long-run economic benefit of his proposed tax cuts.
12 min read
Restoring expensing for R&D, machinery, and equipment; extending better cost recovery to structures investment; and avoiding raising the corporate tax rate would create a stronger, pro-investment policy environment for the US economy.
44 min read
Growing levels of waste and pollution, paired with increasing burdens on taxpayers to address environmental problems, have spurned policymakers in the US and abroad to encourage producers to be responsible, either financially or operationally, for the end-life of their products.
34 min read
Social Security is by far the largest federal government spending program. The latest trustees report shows the program is on a fiscally unsustainable path that will exacerbate the US debt crisis if its imbalances are not addressed in the near term.
33 min read