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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.

 

future of eu tax mix with stefanie geringer, university of vienna

Fiscal Forum: Future of the EU Tax Mix with Dr. Stefanie Geringer

Tax Foundation Europe’s Sean Bray had the opportunity to interview Dr. Stefanie Geringer, a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna and Masaryk University Brno, a certified tax advisor and manager of tax at BDO Austria, about the future of the EU tax mix.

14 min read
illinois budget, tax on gilti, business tax increase

Illinois Policymakers Should Think Twice Before Taxing GILTI

If Illinois’ budget is enacted as-is, Illinois will newly tax 50 percent of Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) as of tax year 2025, retroactively increasing tax burdens for US businesses and further hindering Illinois’ business tax competitiveness.

7 min read

‘Trump Accounts’ Could Be Better. Here’s How.

If the federal government really wanted to make saving more accessible for taxpayers, it would swap the proposal for Trump Accounts to replace the complicated mess of savings accounts currently available with universal savings accounts.

4 min read
Remittances Tax | One Big Beautiful Bill International Money Transfers and Financial Institutions Compliance Costs

The Remittances Tax: High Paperwork, Low Payoff

The House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” includes a new 3.5 percent tax on remittances, or non-commercial transfers of money that people in the US send to people abroad.

7 min read
Congressional Budget Office CBO vs Joint Committee on Taxation JCT vs House Ways and Means Commmittee vs Senate Finance Committee

Congressional Tax Writers and Scorekeepers You Should Know

When you hear about tax policy, you may think of the IRS, the agency responsible for collecting federal taxes. But who is responsible for drafting, reviewing, assessing, and passing tax legislation at the federal level?

4 min read