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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.

European and G7 countries and a Comparison of their Cross-Border Effective Average Tax Rates

Carve-ins and Carve-outs: Open Questions for Global Tax Reform

There has been some confusion about how some parts of the recent G7 agreement on new tax rules for multinational companies might work. The new policies would target the largest and most profitable multinationals and bring in a global minimum tax.

5 min read
Louisiana tax reform proposals Louisiana individual income tax reform Louisiana corporate income tax reform

Louisiana Fiscal Session Finishes Strong with Tax Reform

It took until the last day of the session, but Louisiana lawmakers succeeded in passing a tax reform package Thursday that would simplify a complicated tax code and make the state more economically competitive.

4 min read
Who bears the burden of corporate taxes? Learn more about who bears the burden of the corporate income tax (who actually pays corporate taxes) and the corporate tax burden

Who Bears the Burden of Corporation Taxation? A Review of Recent Evidence

The Biden administration has pledged to not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 a year. However, the administration’s corporate tax proposals would likely violate that pledge, given that corporations are comprised of people who also might earn less than $400,000.

3 min read
Federal highway fund taxes federal infrastructure funding for highways federal excise tax on heavy commercial vehicles

Infrastructure Funding for Highways Digs into Issues of Outdated Taxes and Narrow Bases

As spending priorities are dividing lawmakers trying to negotiate among the various federal infrastructure plans, less time is being spent on the funding of one of the key components—our highways, both current and future taxes and fees. One of the current taxes, a federal excise tax on heavy commercial vehicles and trailers, is an important revenue generator, but its flawed tax design has a negative impact on investment and leads to unstable revenue.

4 min read
Wisconsin budget surplus Wisconsin budget tax proposals Wisconsin property tax system, Wisconsin State Assembly, Wisconsin Committee on Community Development

Wisconsin’s Surplus Presents Opportunity for Down Payment on Future Economic Growth

As Wisconsin emerges from the pandemic, state policymakers have a rare opportunity to reinvest excess revenues in a structurally sound manner that will make the state more attractive to individuals and businesses, promote a quicker and more robust economic recovery, and put the state on the path to increased in-state investment and growth for many years to come.

7 min read
Inflation Reduction Act book minimum tax Inflation Reduction Act accelerated depreciation change in corporate tax liablities, book tax, or corporate minimum tax congressional budget office cbo Eliminating the alternative minimum tax eliminating the AMT inflation indexing, inflation adjusting state tax codes, traditional CPI, index brackets for inflation, index for inflation

A Closer Look at Eliminating the AMT

In our new Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0, there are several options that would simplify the tax code, including eliminating the alternative minimum tax (AMT). While this move would remove a source of complexity, policymakers should also consider reforming the deductions that created a justification for the AMT in the first place.

3 min read
Business tax hikes Some Corporations Pay Zero Federal Income Taxes—and That Is Not a Problem Democrats child tax credit plan. tax administration issues, tax complexity cares act. trump tax cuts who benefited taxpayer subsidies for drug ads

Explaining the GAAP between Book and Taxable Income

A recent study identifies dozens of large companies that paid no income taxes in 2020. While such studies get headlines and may seem shocking, the reality is much more mundane.

5 min read