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.
![Wyoming business tax competitiveness](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/wyoming-e1548714988143-300x188.jpg)
![State sports betting tax revenue, sports betting state tax](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/baseball-mlb-sports-betting-e1553780331997-300x200.jpg)
![Elizabeth Warren Wealth Tax Constitutional](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Elizabeth_Warren_speaks_May_19_2014-300x200.jpg)
Unclear if Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal is Constitutional
There is a chance that Senator Warren’s proposed wealth tax would be found unconstitutional, but opinions are mixed and the precedents go both ways.
2 min read![Sen Elizabeth warren wealth tax. wealth tax senator warren](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/elizabeth-warren-66-300x200.jpg)
Sen. Warren’s Wealth Tax Is Problematic
Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently proposed a wealth tax on high-net-worth individuals, a type of tax that is poorly targeted, difficult to administer, and raises constitutional questions.
4 min read![States Should be Wary of ITEP Marijuana Tax Policy](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Marijuana-tax-policy-e1548264902288-300x200.jpg)
![Spotify Mixes Up Tax Notices to D.C. and Iowa Subscribers, Digital Streaming Tax Digital Sales Tax](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/spotify-tax-300x200.jpg)
![OECD tax revenues 2021 sources of government revenue in the oecd, 2019, government tax revenue corporate tax revenue corporate tax revenues](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Sources-of-government-revenue-euros-CROP-e1555963525137-300x188.jpeg)
![](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sweden-enhanced-e1548116108525-300x200.jpg)
![Washington State Income Tax](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/washington-state-300x169.jpg)
Sorry, Washington State: Capital Gains Taxes are Still Income Taxes—But There’s a Better Way
A new, high tax rate on capital gains income would be a risky move for Washington State even if it didn’t face an enormous constitutional challenge.
5 min read![Ocasio-Cortez’s Proposed 70 Percent Top Marginal Income Tax Rate Would Deter Innovation, 70 percent tax rate](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/rawpixel-790896-unsplash-e1547491544608-300x200.jpg)