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.

 

Dr. Sergio Vasques
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Fiscal Forum: Future of the EU Tax Mix with Sérgio Vasques

Sean Bray interviewed Dr. Sérgio Vasques, Professor of Tax Law at the Catholic University of Lisbon and former Portuguese Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, about the future of the EU tax mix.

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The most effective way to tax alcoholic beverages is to tax according to alcohol content, rather than beverage type.

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earmark excise tax revenue excise tax revenue in europe, 2025
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Massachusetts Lawmakers Should Focus on Sound Tax Reform Rather than Double Taxing Business Income

Massachusetts lawmakers should look for opportunities to reform the tax code, revamp the state’s competitiveness, and stem the tide of outmigration. This bill, by contrast, would double down on the economically uncompetitive features of the Commonwealth’s existing tax code. Aggressively expanding NCTI inclusion is not productive or competitive.

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Understanding Debt, Deficits, and Interest

The US national debt is on an unprecedented and unsustainable trajectory that will require ever-greater borrowing and larger interest payments on what is borrowed. These interest payments will, in turn, consume a larger part of the budget, and all Americans will pay the price.

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