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Evaluating U.S. Tax Reform Options & Trade-Offs

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic poses a triple challenge for tax policy in the United States. Lawmakers are tasked with crafting a policy response that will accelerate the economic recovery, reduce the mounting deficit, and protect the most vulnerable.

To assist lawmakers in navigating the challenge, and to help the American public understand the tax changes being proposed, the Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy modeled how 70 potential changes to the tax code would affect the U.S. economy, distribution of the tax burden, and federal revenue.

In tax policy there is an ever-present trade-off among how much revenue a tax will raise, who bears the burden of a tax, and what impact a tax will have on economic growth. Armed with the information in our new book, Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0, policymakers can debate the relative merits and trade-offs of each option to improve the tax code in a post-pandemic world.

Comparing 2020 capital gains proposals

Comparing Capital Gains Tax Proposals by 2020 Presidential Candidates

Biden, Sanders, and Warren have staked out similar plans to increase capital gains taxes on the wealthiest Americans. While all three candidates have called for taxing capital gains at ordinary income rates, the phase-in levels and top marginal tax rates vary.

5 min read
Understanding Why Full Expensing Matters, Full expensing is also known as accelerated depreciation of capital investments, Learn more about accelerated cost recovery of investments.

Understanding Why Full Expensing Matters

Understanding the channel through which a tax policy change is expected to affect the economy is crucial. Absent this understanding, we are likely to reach the wrong conclusions on what sound tax policy looks like and what changes would improve the tax code.

4 min read