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.
![Chile tax reform 2023 Chile Boric business tax reform to Chile corporate tax reform](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Santiago-Chile-tax-reform-Jose-Luis-Stephens-e1678995194792-300x199.jpg)
Chile Needs Pro-Growth Tax Reform
As Chile looks to the future, policymakers might want to follow the UK’s example. Policymakers should focus on growth-oriented tax policies that encourage private and foreign direct investment, savings, and entrepreneurial activity, increasing Chile’s international tax competitiveness.
2 min read![Kentucky business tax reform Kentucky manufacturing business inputs in sales tax base and property tax proposals](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Kentucky-capitol-e1678899143421-300x190.jpg)
Kentucky Should Refrain from Expanding Its Taxation of Business Inputs
As final negotiations occur between the House and Senate, legislators should avoid adopting new policies that would jeopardize Kentucky’s business tax competitiveness.
5 min read![Oklahoma tax reform plan 2023 Oklahoma flat tax and Oklahoma franchise tax repeal and Oklahoma inflation tax policies including Oklahoma rebate checks](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Oklahoma-state-capitol-2022-e1653333453633-300x200.jpeg)
Oklahoma Lawmakers’ Tax Reform Plan Would Put State in Top 10
The changes put forth in a new package of bills would represent significant pro-growth change for Oklahoma that would set the state up for success in an increasingly competitive tax landscape.
7 min read![Massachusetts budget tax proposal Governor Healey budget question 1 ballot measure Massachusetts millionaires tax or Massachusetts graduated income tax amendment MA](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Massachusetts-eskystudio-e1669131454711-300x200.jpeg)
Positive Tax Reforms in Massachusetts Budget Proposal Have Broader Implications
The proposed reforms would be welcome changes to the Commonwealth’s tax code, but the economic principles behind the reforms also have important implications for the Bay State’s income tax system writ large.
6 min read![President Biden tax fairness plan includes complexity and double taxation including Biden taxes on investment and saving](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/President-Biden-budget-tax-complexity-and-double-taxation-FY-2024-300x212.png)
Biden’s New Tax Proposals Are Complicated and Rife with Double Taxation
Tax reform should be about increasing fairness. And the way to get there is by reducing complexity and double taxation, not by doubling down on them.
5 min read![Kansas tax cuts what about kansas tax experiment (kansas experiment about brownback tax cuts)](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kansas-state-capitol-min-e1653416127839-300x200.jpeg)
Analyzing the Kansas Senate’s Proposed Tax Changes
As Kansas legislators consider additional tax policy changes this legislative session, they should prioritize economic growth and a structurally sound tax code.
7 min read![President Biden budget tax proposals in 2023 budget plan includes capital gains tax, small business taxes and taxes on wealthy individuals](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/joe-biden-feb-2023-3-300x157.jpeg)
Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Would Result in More Than $4.5 Trillion in Gross Tax Increases
President Biden’s new budget proposal outlines several major tax increases targeted at businesses and high-income individuals that would bring U.S. income tax rates far out of step with international norms.
7 min read![Von der Leyen Biden EU IRA & Competitiveness | Tax FoundationPresident von der Leyen President Biden Can’t Fix European Competitiveness clean tech and Inflation reduction act subsidies](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/President-von-der-Leyen-President-Biden-CanE28099t-Fix-European-Competitiveness-clean-tech-and-Inflation-reduction-act-subsidies-300x240.jpg)
Dear President von der Leyen: President Biden Can’t Fix European Competitiveness
Focusing on the “threat” to European industry caused by the Inflation Reduction Act rather than internal tax system flaws puts the EU at risk of slower economic growth and possibly losing some of its important industrial base. It is also contrary to the EU’s geopolitical goals.
4 min read![EU tax research The European Commission and the Taxation of the Digital Economy EU digital levy](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/eu-european-union-linkedin-3-300x157.jpeg)
EU Taxation: Prioritizing Geopolitics over Revenue
If the EU wants to strategically compete with economic powers like the United States or China, it needs principled, pro-growth tax policy that prioritizes efficient ways to raise revenue over geopolitical ambitions.
6 min read![Biden semiconductor CHIPS Act subsidies in the Chips and Science Act](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Biden-semiconductor-CHIPS-Act-subsidies-in-the-Chips-and-Science-Act-300x149.jpg)
Careful What You Wish For: CHIPS Subsidies Require “Excess Profits” Sharing
Instead of such a complex and inefficient system, policymakers should move to full expensing as part of the effort to build.
3 min read