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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.

Adobe Stock, Robert Hainer

Georgia Should Reinforce Its Tax Reform Intentions

By shifting to a flat income tax, Georgia has already made an important commitment to tax competitiveness. Although the state’s top rate threshold is already very low, a true single-rate income tax will help protect taxpayers from inflation-related tax increases and provide a buffer against rising tax rates in the future. To combine responsible rate reductions with these benefits, Georgia should create tax triggers that empower the state to keep pace with its competition.

3 min read
Tax filing Tax Season Stone's Throwe Photo

Frustration and Delays as the 2023 Tax Filing Season Begins

A combination of long-standing IRS operational deficiencies, the agency’s temporary closure due to the pandemic, and the now-expired pandemic relief produced a perfect recipe for a paper backlog.

4 min read
state wealth tax proposals state flat tax state income tax reform state tobacco taxes, state cigarette tax rates and cigarette taxes state tax incentives 2021 state revenue and 2021 state budget projections state tax reform covid and state tax cuts covid

Wealth Tax Proposals Are Back as States Take Aim at Investment

In a coordinated effort, lawmakers in seven states that collectively house about 60 percent of the nation’s wealth—California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Washington—are introducing wealth tax legislation on Thursday.

7 min read
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Three Reasons Why Dynamic Scoring Still Matters

Lawmakers should use the most comprehensive analytical tools available to them—like dynamic scoring—to make informed decisions about policy changes.

5 min read
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) US EU tax and trade policy why Congress should care about EU tax policy

In the Shadow of T-TIP: Why Congress Should Care About EU Tax and Trade Issues in 2023

The EU’s unilateral approach with carbon taxes, faster track on the global minimum tax, and threat of renewed efforts on DSTs means that U.S. policymakers face some hard choices. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic should keep in mind pro-growth tax and trade principles that promote a rules-based international order and increase opportunity.

7 min read
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Taxes in Everything: Die Hard Edition

It’s Christmas time, and for millions of families around the country, that means revisiting some classic holiday movies. For some, that includes It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone. For others, that includes Die Hard.

3 min read
digital services taxes in europe EU and OECD digital services tax Pillar One Digital taxes and tariffs

Digital Services Taxes: Is There an End in Sight?

As it stands, Pillar One would usher in the end of many digital services taxes (though perhaps not all) at the cost of increased complexity (in an already complex and uncertain system).

4 min read