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.


Mississippi Lawmakers Consider Creation of State Lottery
As Mississippi policymakers contemplate a lottery, it may be tempting to think of it as free money—new revenue raised without having to adopt a new tax. A better way of thinking about the issue, however, would recognize the lottery for what it is: a regressive form of high implicit taxation.
3 min read

Other Federal Tax Changes in the New Year
Though the focus has been on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there are other federal changes that took place on January 1, 2018 which are also worth reviewing.
3 min read
Retirement Savings Left Largely Untouched by Tax Reform
While rumors flew around Washington in the fall that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would dramatically impact retirement savings accounts, the plan has made only a few minor modifications.
3 min read


Trade and Capital Flow Consequences of Tax Reform: A Means to a Faster Expansion of U.S. Capital Formation and Employment
The tax bill will boost investment and incomes in the United States, and make the country a better place to locate production and hiring. There will be a transitory rise in the trade deficit, but in the context of a stronger, faster-growing economy.
5 min read
Statement on Final Passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress took a historic step toward rewriting the U.S. tax code for the first time since 1986.
1 min read
Pass-Through Deduction Won’t Flow Through to Most States
For policymakers in most states, the fact that the pass-through deduction doesn’t affect AGI should come as a relief. For those in the six states which use federal taxable income as their starting point for conformity, decoupling from the provision is an entirely viable option.
2 min read