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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.

The Compliance Costs of IRS Regulations

IRS Sends Nearly $15 Billion of Advance Child Tax Credit Payments

New Treasury Department data released on the advance Child Tax Credit payments shows the distribution by state, including how much, on average, households in each state received. The expansion will only be in effect for the 2021 tax year—if policymakers wish to continue providing the increased benefits, they must address the administrative and revenue costs of the policy.

4 min read
digital streaming services tax cutting cable

Cutting the Cord from Cable Has States Courting New Revenue Streams

If states wish to tax digital streaming and download services, they should do it the right way, by including them in their sales tax base—preferably as part of broader reforms paired with commensurate rate reductions—rather than inventing new excise taxes or shoehorning taxation of the new economy into outdated statutes.

4 min read
state tax neutrality state tax treatment differs among industries state tax incentives

Even Within States, Tax Treatment Differs by Industry

States can enhance tax neutrality across industries by reforming tax structures that penalize certain business activity, leaning less on generous incentives, and focusing more on creating a tax code that provides for low and competitive burdens for all comers.

5 min read
Flag and buildings, corporate taxation, double taxation

Piling on the GILTI Verdicts

The Biden administration has proposed to significantly increase the tax burden on foreign income through a policy known as Global Intangible Low-Tax Income (GILTI). While the administration’s rhetoric focuses on doubling the tax rate on GILTI from 10.5 percent to 21 percent, this is less than half the story.

5 min read
wealthy inequality, pensions and social security, new research from federal reserve bank of boston Massachusetts ban on flavored cigarettes, Massachusetts ban on flavored tobacco

New Research Suggests Estimates of Wealth Inequality Likely Overstated

New research from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston economists suggests wealth inequality has grown less than previously estimated and that shares of wealth held by top earners drops significantly when accounting for sources of lower- and middle-class wealth that are often overlooked.

2 min read
Schumer marijuana bill recreational marijuana tax revenue by state

New Tax in Town? Federal Proposal to Deschedule and Tax Marijuana

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D), and Sen. Cory Booker (D) released their discussion draft—the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act—for federal descheduling of marijuana. While federal descheduling impacts all states, it does not deschedule marijuana in states which choose to keep their own ban.

6 min read