ARPA’s Tax Cuts Limitation Is a Problem for More States Than You Think
Tax cut legislation is not just a red state phenomenon, and tax reductions come in many forms other than rate reductions. The American Rescue Plan Act’s state tax cuts limitation is a problem for more states than you think.
2 min read
Why Smoking and Vaping Tax Increases Should Not be Part of West Virginia’s Reform Proposals
In West Virginia, both Senate Republicans and Gov. Justice have offered proposals for reductions to the state’s income tax. In both of the proposals, excise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products are part of the pay-fors that are supposed to make up revenue lost due to lower income tax rates.
4 min read
U.S. Effective Corporate Tax Rate Is Right in Line With Its OECD Peers
Whether we use corporate tax collections as a portion of GDP, average effective tax rates, or marginal tax rates, each measure shows that the U.S. effective corporate tax burden is close to or above the average compared to its OECD peers. Raising corporate income taxes would put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, whether one looks at statutory tax rates or effective corporate tax rates.
4 min read
Combined Corporate Rates Would Exceed 30 Percent in Most States Under Biden’s Tax Plan
While the focus has been on the federal rate, it is important to include state tax rates when thinking about the total tax burden on corporate income.
3 min read
President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Raises Taxes on U.S. Production
An increase in the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would raise the U.S. federal-state combined tax rate to 32.34 percent, higher than every country in the OECD, the G7, and all our major trade partners and competitors including China.
6 min read
CBO Study: Benefits of Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Won’t Outweigh $2 Trillion Tax Hike
The economics is clear: If Biden wants to maximize the economic benefits of his $3 trillion in new infrastructure spending, he should cut $3 trillion in other government spending to pay for it.
7 min read
ARPA Allocates $2 Billion to Nonexistent County Governments
The government of Hartford County, Connecticut is in line to receive $173 million in local aid under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). There’s only one problem: the government of Hartford County doesn’t exist, nor do any of Connecticut’s other counties have county-level government despite being allocated a collective $691 million under the bill.
4 min read
A CEO Tax Is the Wrong Way to Help Workers
In an effort to rein in perceived excesses in executive compensation, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and other co-sponsors have proposed to increase a company’s corporate income tax rate progressively based on the difference between median worker pay and CEO pay.
4 min read
Evaluating West Virginia Income Tax Repeal Plans
States which forgo income taxes have seen population and economic growth vastly outstripping their peers, and a post-pandemic culture that is friendlier to remote work will greatly enhance tax competition.
71 min read
Are Excise Taxes on Beverages a Good Substitute for Income Taxes?
Policymakers should be very cautious about relying too heavily on excise tax increases to pay down tax reductions elsewhere. Ideally, revenue offsets would come from more stable, broader-based revenue sources.
4 min read