Daniel Bunn is President and CEO of the Tax Foundation. Daniel has been with the organization since 2018 and, prior to becoming President, successfully built its Center for Global Tax Policy, expanding the Tax Foundation’s reach and impact around the world.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Daniel worked in the United States Senate at the Joint Economic Committee as part of Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Social Capital Project and on the policy staff for both Senator Lee and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). In his time in the Senate, Daniel developed legislative initiatives on tax, trade, regulatory, and budget policy.
He has a master’s degree in Economic Policy from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from North Greenville University in South Carolina.
Daniel lives in Halethorpe, Maryland, with his wife and their three children.
Wealth taxes have been a failure everywhere they’ve been tried, which may be why advocates for the California amendment are saying this is a new frontier. But the countries that have tried this gamble know the frontier well, and they’ve left it in the dust.
If America’s leaders today want to learn how to build a lasting system on the foundation of simplicity and neutrality, they should follow the Siim Kallas blueprint.
4 min read
How we support savings in the US is too complex, and Trump Accounts worsen the problem. If lawmakers truly want to increase savings for taxpayers from day one, they should look to the UK and Canada, which have done it successfully for many years.
The EU public country-by-country data provides information on taxes and profits that do not align with standard financial disclosure requirements.
6 min read
The new data disclosures will draw significant attention in 2026 and beyond. However, because the data is rooted in financial accounting concepts, affected by timing issues, and shaped by inconsistent reporting regimes, it is poorly suited for drawing strong conclusions about tax policy or corporate behavior.
7 min read
AI may be a transformative technology, but that is not a good justification for throwing core principles of tax policy out the window.
Voters in California this fall will have to determine whether the state will institute a billionaire tax. Advocates of this proposal have been pushing for these kinds of money grabs for decades—and their arguments often run the same. The base is narrow, the lifespan is limited, the cause is sympathetic.
Revenue-neutral proposals, like many things in politics, have become a relic of the past.
These debates are often framed in terms of fairness. Raise taxes on a few to provide benefits for most, the thinking goes. But in policy, the more important question should focus on mechanics: will this change achieve its stated goal?
For many, the OBBBA made tax filing easier and put more money back into their pockets. But it didn’t improve the grade for overall tax complexity for the US. It may actually make the situation worse.
By 2036, more than one out of every four dollars raised in total government revenue will go to pay interest on the debt.
Unlike the IEEPA tariffs, which were stopped by the Supreme Court, the new Sec. 122 tariffs require congressional authorization after 150 days.
The side-by-side agreement is an important step in trans-Atlantic economic relations, however, there is more work to be done—on both sides of the Atlantic. If there’s a downside to the side-by-side agreement, it’s the risk of locking in mediocre tax policy choices for the long run.
Formulary apportionment, global tax harmonization, and broad tax increases on services all face design, implementation, and economic barriers. When designing tax systems, policymakers should focus on doing the basic things well and avoid harmful policies that could stunt growth.
7 min read
A focus on sustained growth, meaningful metrics, and institutional capabilities that keep simplification a focus in future regulatory efforts should underpin the decluttering agenda.
8 min read
Economic policy in 2025 came with historic highs but also disappointing lows.
The Trump administration has rightly shifted its focus from pursuing legislative changes to implementing new permanent rules. But in this shift, it’s crucial that the White House doesn’t lose focus on the larger task at hand.
In this episode, we break down what the OBBBA did, walk through our projections, and zoom out to other defining fights of 2025: Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the Supreme Court challenge over presidential tariff power, and the growing wave of property tax revolts across the states.
Due to the incentive for jurisdictions to implement a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT), Pillar Two leaves a geographic asymmetry. Additional tax revenues would predominantly accrue to low-tax jurisdictions, with high tax jurisdictions receiving little to no increase.
2 min read
New evidence shows the scale and distribution of compliance costs for EU firms affected by Pillar Two, i.e., the “Global Minimum Tax.”
6 min read