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.
![U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1862-2021, U.S. federal historical income tax rates, historical federal tax rates, and historical federal income tax rates income tax rates history tax deductions, regressivity of tax deductions](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/tax-compliance-1040-costs-e1561735884922-300x200.jpeg)
![international debt sharing, debt financing, market value of a firm, lend money](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/international-competition-globe-enhaced-e1561651253753-300x200.jpg)
![opportunity zone effectiveness, opportunity zone benefits, opportunity zone tax break](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/opportunity-zone-effectiveness-opportunity-zone-benefits-opportunity-zone-tax-break-e1561559845855-300x200.jpg)
![small business tax relief, small business tax compliance, small business compliance, small businesses](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/work-investment-job-economic-impact-300x200.jpg)
![digitalization of the economy, international tax treaty system, OECD digital economy](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/flag-international-global-300x240.jpg)
![SALT cap repeal, State and local tax deduction cap repeal (state and local tax cap). Repealing the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction would be regressive and mainly benefit the wealthy SALT deduction cap, House Ways and Means Committee testimony, impact of limiting SALT deduction, SALT deduction cap, State and Local Tax Deduction cap](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/capitol-us-capitol-hearing-event-federal-e1561477935763-300x200.jpeg)
Testimony before the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee
Watch Nicole Kaeding, Vice President of Federal and Special Projects at the Tax Foundation, testify before the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcomittee on the impact of limiting the SALT deduction.
23 min read![Tax Cuts and Jobs Act offshoring Controlled Foreign Corporation rules around the world CFC rules US CFC rules passive foreign investment companies, PFICs GILTI, global minimum tax](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/linkedin-In-Stream_Wide___interntional-global-map-gilti-e1561400252793-300x158.jpg)
How Controlled Foreign Corporation Rules Look Around the World: United States of America
The United States was the first country to enact CFC rules, and it is probably the country with the most complex set of rules that will be presented in this blog series. The rules determine control using a combined ownership test: one for the corporation and the other at the shareholder level. The assessable income under the rules is generally passive income but the amount of foreign income subject to U.S. tax has expanded with the adoption of GILTI.
10 min read![Massachusetts millionaire tax, Massachusetts millionaires' tax amendment](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FINAL-013-300x251.png)
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How Patent Boxes Impact Business Decisions
As with every change in tax policy, there are trade-offs. The Modified Nexus Approach adds an additional layer of complexity to the already complex issue of taxing IP income. Linking tax breaks for IP income to its associated R&D activity has changed the game and will likely result in some businesses restructuring and relocating their IP assets and R&D activity. Effective tax rates on IP income will likely play an important role in determining optimal locations, giving measures such as R&D credits more importance. Whether this new approach to IP taxation will impact profit shifting and which countries will be the winners and losers is yet to be seen.
6 min read