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Talking Tax Reform: Economic Recovery After Coronavirus

Accounting for Deficits: When Should They Matter and How Should We Solve It?

Revenue shortfalls and deficits can be addressed best by considering when to consider the deficit as the primary priority and reevaluating how revenue can be raised most efficiently through sound tax policy principles.

The U.S. Tax Burden on Labor, 2020

Although the U.S. has a progressive tax system and a relatively low tax burden compared to the OECD average, average-wage workers still pay about 30 percent of their wages in taxes.

To What Extent Does Your State Rely on Individual Income Taxes?

While the current crisis has caused consumption to drop dramatically, it is generally true that income taxes are more volatile than consumption taxes in an economic downturn and income taxes tend to be more harmful to economic growth than consumption taxes and property taxes.

Under the HEROES Act, State Budgets Could Soar as the Economy Suffers

The HEROES Act, proposed by House Democrats as a next round of fiscal relief during the coronavirus outbreak, contains about $1.08 trillion in aid to states and localities. That would bring the pandemic total to $1.63 trillion—an amount so large that it might overwhelm their ability to spend it and could reward fiscal irresponsibility.

How the HEROES Act Would Allocate State and Local Aid for Coronavirus Relief

The HEROES Act would provide more than $1 trillion to state and local governments. Here’s how funding would be distributed and provisional estimates of how much aid each state would receive.

A Comparison of the Tax Burden on Labor in the OECD, 2020

A higher tax burden on labor often leads to lower employment rates and wages. That’s important for policymakers to remember as they look for ways to help their economies recover from coronavirus-induced shutdowns. If their goal is to encourage employment, policies that lower the tax burden on labor could prove a powerful tool.

California the Latest to Propose Higher Vapor Taxes

Designing a State and Local Government Relief Package

The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic downturn will wreak havoc on state and local tax revenues, with projections of a 15-20 percent decline in state revenues. Our new report provides a framework for how to design an effective state and local relief package.

Reducing the Bias Against Long-term Investments

Other countries have shown that providing deductions in line with invested capital costs can have positive impacts both on investment and on debt bias.