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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.

Wisconsin state budget tax proposals Wisconsin standard deduction increase, Wisconsin tangible personal property tax reform, Madison Wisconsin

Wisconsin Legislature Considering Several Pro-Growth Tax Reforms

Reducing the second-highest individual income tax rate, repealing the TPP tax, and freezing UI tax rates are three valuable reforms that would help promote a smooth economic recovery in Wisconsin while setting the state up for robust economic growth for years to come.

6 min read

New Hampshire Closes in on Tax Cuts to Enhance State’s Competitive Advantage

New Hampshire lawmakers are scheduled to take up a budget conference report which contains several tax reforms negotiated by both chambers that would ultimately make New Hampshire the ninth state to impose no tax on individual income. These reforms floated at the beginning of the 2021 session found their way into HB 2, including rate reductions in the Business Profits Tax (BPT) and Business Enterprise Tax (BET) and a phaseout of the interest and dividends tax.

4 min read
Spain digital services tax Spain falling behind on digitalization, Spain Digital Tax, Digital Services Tax

Spain Determined to Cash in on Digital Services Tax

Spain’s digital services tax levies a 3 percent tax on revenues from online ads, deals brokered on digital platforms, and sales of user data by tech companies with at least €750 million (US $893 million) in total annual worldwide revenues and Spanish revenues of €3 million ($3.57 million).

4 min read
state sports betting tax legislation sports betting legislation state trends

States Continue to Bet on Sports

With many state legislative sessions wrapping up for this year, and a new fiscal year about to begin, it’s a good time to examine some of the 2021 legislative trends—and sports betting taxes are among the more prominent.

5 min read
Major changes for US companaies earning profits from Ireland Double Irish structure Irish tax haven royalty payments from Ireland Double irish structure royalty payments from ireland New Research Shows Major Changes for U.S. Companies Earning Profits from Ireland tax haven

New Research Shows Major Changes for U.S. Companies Earning Profits from Ireland

New data show that the recent policy changes that have been implemented by the U.S., Ireland, and dozens of other countries are having an impact. The question for policymakers is whether they will take the time to understand these impacts before jumping to the next project to change international tax rules yet again.

3 min read