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.

Infrastructure Funding for Highways Digs into Issues of Outdated Taxes and Narrow Bases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
Broad-Based Taxes on Consumption and User Fees Are Efficient Ways to Raise Federal Revenue for Infrastructure
Rather than relying on damaging corporate tax hikes, policymakers should consider user fees and consumption taxes as options for financing new infrastructure to ensure that a compromise does not end up being a net negative for the U.S. economy.
2 min read
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
Taxing Consumption Progressively Is a Better Way to Tax the Wealthy
Policymakers concerned about the current tax treatment of unrealized capital gains would be better off exploring policy solutions like consumption taxes rather than tried-and-failed strategies.
5 min read
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
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
Biden Proposals Would Significantly Expand Benefits Administered Through the Tax Code
The Biden administration will have to balance the desire to increase social spending through the tax code with the need to collect revenue and have a tax system that is transparent and easy to understand.
5 min read
Ohio Lawmakers Ponder Tax Relief after Rosy Revenue Outlook
Ohio is one of a growing number of states which experienced revenue increases despite the economic slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic and is now looking to return some of that through tax relief.
5 min read
Closer Look at Option to Restructure EITC/CTC to Help Low-Income Households
We take a closer look at the most extensive of these proposals: restructuring the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) based on the Family Security Act proposed by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in February.
3 min read
Repealing Tariffs Would Be a Simple Option to Boost U.S. Economic Growth
Of the many tax policies modeled in our new Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0, repealing the tariffs imposed under President Trump’s administration would be one of the simplest ways policymakers could boost economic growth.
2 min read