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.

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Are Tax Rebates a Good Way to Provide Relief from Rising Prices?

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Inflation-Indexing a Useful Tool to Protect New Jersey Taxpayers

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Will Kentucky Build Upon Its 2018 Reforms This Year?

As Kentucky policymakers make final decisions on tax relief this year, they should make the most of this opportunity to return excess tax collections in a manner that would also enhance the Bluegrass State’s prospects for long-term economic growth.

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