Garrett Watson is Director of Policy Analysis at the Tax Foundation, where he conducts research on federal and state tax policy. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, the Associated Press and other major outlets.
Previously, Garrett was a program manager at a nearby think tank and conducted policy research on economic opportunity and labor markets, including non-compete clause reform.
Garrett earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, where he studied economics and philosophy. Garrett lives in northwest Arkansas and is an avid hockey fan and snowboarder.
Lawmakers should prioritize pro-growth tax policies and use the least economically damaging offsets to make the legislation fiscally responsible. If lawmakers choose to use C-SALT, they should carefully consider the economic trade-off with permanent, pro-growth tax cuts that support investment and innovation in the US.
7 min read
President Trump has called for permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts, additional policies including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits for retirees, and has also promised higher taxes on US imports through a series of new tariffs.
7 min read
While capping C-SALT has superficial appeal in perceived parity with personal limits, it rests on flawed assumptions about the nature of individual and corporate income taxes.
7 min read
Permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would boost long-run economic output by 1.1 percent, the capital stock by 0.7 percent, wages by 0.5 percent, and hours worked by 847,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
6 min read
The Tax Foundation models tax policy using our proprietary Taxes and Growth model, illustrating the economic, revenue, and distributional impacts of different changes to the federal tax code. We’ve recently implemented improvements to the model that have been underway for the past several years, and we will be detailing them further in our forthcoming model methodology update.
4 min read
Republican policymakers in Congress are considering options to raise revenue as part of their expected legislative package in 2025. One such option involves raising the tax rate on university endowments first put in place as part of the TCJA in 2017.
4 min read
Given the poor state of the budget process and worsening debt trajectory, lawmakers should move boldly and quickly to address the issue, including via a fiscal commission process. Issues to consider should include reforms to both spending and taxes.
42 min read
Many policies, such as minimum wage levels, tax brackets, and means-tested public benefit income thresholds, are denominated in nominal dollars, even though a dollar in one region may go much further than a dollar in another. Lawmakers should keep that reality in mind as they make changes to tax and economic policies.
6 min read
If lawmakers are serious about pro-growth policies and fiscal responsibility, they will need to put policies forward that achieve those goals. Simply adjusting the baseline doesn’t reduce actual deficits in the coming years.
7 min read
Fiscal pressures are likely to weigh heavily on lawmakers as they craft a tax reform package. That increased pressure could result in well-designed tax reform that prioritizes economic growth, simplicity, and stability, or it could encourage budget gimmicks and economically harmful offsets. Lawmakers should avoid the latter.
8 min read
As lawmakers prepare for the debate over the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), they may face increasing pressure to offset the cost of lowering tax rates by changing other parts of the tax code. One potential option to raise additional revenue to cover the cost of the TCJA’s reforms—like lower rates, a larger standard deduction, and a larger child tax credit—would be to repeal the head of household filing status.
5 min read
On tax policy, Harris carries forward much of President Biden’s FY 2025 budget, including higher taxes aimed at businesses and high earners. She would also further expand the child tax credit (CTC) and various other tax credits and incentives while exempting tips from income tax.
17 min read
We estimate Trump’s proposed tariffs and partial retaliation from all trading partners would together offset more than two-thirds of the long-run economic benefit of his proposed tax cuts.
12 min read
Raising the combined US corporate rate to the second highest in the OECD would encourage corporations to depart from the US, reducing economic output and worker wages across the income spectrum.
2 min read
As part of the 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing to tax long-term capital gains at a top rate of 33 percent for high earners, taking the top federal rate to highs not seen since the 1970s.
3 min read
Exempting overtime would unnecessarily complicate the tax code, increase compliance and administrative costs, and reduce neutrality by favoring certain work arrangements over others.
5 min read
Supernormal profits are an important concept, but we should be wary of analysis that both defines supernormal profits very broadly and equates all supernormal profits with monopoly profits that can be easily taxed without negative economic effects.
23 min read
In her campaign for president, VP Kamala Harris has embraced all the tax increases President Biden proposed in the White House FY 2025 budget—including a new idea that would require taxpayers with net wealth above $100 million to pay a minimum tax on their unrealized capital gains from assets such as stocks, bonds, or privately held companies.
5 min read
To encourage greater saving, the US federal income tax provides tax-neutral treatment to some types of saving through a variety of accounts. The type of tax treatment, contribution limits, withdrawal rules, and use cases for contributions all vary by account, leading to a complicated system for households to navigate.
11 min read
Exempting Social Security benefits from income tax would increase the budget deficit by about $1.6 trillion over 10 years, accelerate the insolvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, and create a new hole in the income tax without a sound policy rationale.
6 min read