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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.

Evaluating Options to Help Low-Income Households Lift After-Tax Incomes

Evaluating Options to Help Low-Income Households

While strong economic growth—fueled by higher levels of investment, productivity, and jobs—will lift after-tax incomes over time, policies that provide relief by immediately boosting after-tax incomes of lower-income households are also available. As lawmakers consider such policies, they should keep in mind the trade-offs among them.

4 min read
American Jobs Plan Tax Biden Infrastructure Plan Details and Analysis Tax Foundation

Tax Policy in the First 100 Days of the Biden Administration

In his first 100 days as president, Joe Biden has proposed more than a dozen significant changes to the U.S. tax code that would raise upwards of $3 trillion in revenue and reduce incentives to invest, save, and work in the United States.

4 min read
Kansas sales tax groceries Kansas tax reform bill veto override

Kansas Lawmakers to Consider Veto Override on Tax Reform Bill

Kansas has the revenue cushion it needs to provide tax relief to individuals and businesses and improve the structure of its tax code in the process. These pro-growth reforms would not only help taxpayers amid the pandemic but would also promote economic recovery and growth in a state that is lagging behind its competitors.

7 min read
New Orleans Louisiana

Louisiana Aims at Comprehensive Tax Reform

While many of the tax proposals work in tandem, some conflicts continue to exist. If lawmakers were able to repeal federal deductibility, reduce income tax rates, finish the job on inventory taxation, and phase out the capital stock tax, this would represent a marked improvement in the state’s tax climate, eliminating several of the most uncompetitive features of the current code.

6 min read