Survey Says Tax Confusion
All Americans are affected by the tax code—but do they understand the tax code?
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New National Tax Literacy Poll Highlights Need for Better Tax Education
Despite taxes playing a significant role in personal finances and being levied on a sizable portion of the U.S. population, most Americans are not just unhappy with the current tax code but also do not understand it.
4 min read
Nonprofits are Financially Healthy and Doing Big Business
Can an organization rightfully be called a “nonprofit” if it almost always makes money? And what if most of that organization’s income comes from “business income,” should it legitimately be considered a “charity”?
7 min read
Inconsistent Tax Treatment of Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Creates Confusion
Starting on September 1st, federal student loan payments will resume after a three-and-a-half-year pause on payments and accrued interest following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
6 min read
Insights into the Tax Systems of Scandinavian Countries
Scandinavian countries are well known for their broad social safety net and their public funding of services such as universal health care, higher education, parental leave, and child and elderly care. So how do Scandinavian countries raise their tax revenues?
7 min read
Should We Tax University Endowments?
Taxing university endowments has gained popularity recently, partly in response to the Biden administration’s forgiveness of student loan debt. Some view it as a means of holding universities accountable for the product they’re selling. Others view it as a tool to tamp down tuition rates or punish ideological opponents. But do these arguments hold water and is an endowment tax sound policy?
7 min read
States That Might Tax Student Loan Debt Cancellation
Will states consider student loan forgiveness a taxable event? In some states, the answer could be yes.
5 min read
Efforts to Improve Tax Treatment of Saving Gain Traction on Hill
The proposals share a common goal of improving incentives for households to save during a time when inflation is impacting their finances.
3 min read
Details and Analysis of President Biden’s FY 2022 Budget Proposals
Explore President Biden budget proposals, including tax and spending in American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. See Biden tax and spending proposals.
12 min read
Details and Analysis of Tax Proposals in President Biden’s American Families Plan
The Biden administration’s proposed American Families Plan includes several major tax changes. Explore the tax proposals in the American Families Plan.
10 min read
The American Rescue Plan Act Greatly Expands Benefits through the Tax Code in 2021
The major tax-related benefits in the $1.9 trillion economic relief plan are a third round of direct payments, extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and a $10,200 unemployment insurance income exemption for 2020, and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit.
6 min read
Tax Extenders Hitch a Ride on Omnibus and COVID-19 Relief Deal
Tax extenders are no stranger to hitching a last-minute ride on year-end legislation. This year they made another last-minute appearance, finding a hold in their own division of the 5,593-page bill to fund the government through the fiscal year and provide additional coronavirus relief through March.
2 min read
Republican Study Committee Workforce Plan Rethinks Education, Labor, and Welfare Tax Policy
The House Republican Study Committee released a proposal, “Reclaiming the American Dream,” which includes 118 policy recommendations to address education, labor, and welfare policy with the aim of expanding opportunity, liberty, and free enterprise for all Americans.
7 min readEconomic Recovery and Deductions for Worker Training
Tax treatment can affect investment decisions. Extending expensing treatment (full and immediate deductions) to all forms of capital investment, human and physical, would help facilitate sustainable long-run economic growth.
2 min read
Expensing Provisions Should Not Favor Physical Over Human Capital
Investments in worker training and education can increase productivity and economic output as growth in human capital accumulates, though the time horizon for these effects is longer than that of physical capital accumulation.
3 min read