American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

The Chronic Disorder of Ever-Expanding Healthcare Subsidies

Amidst a government shutdown, healthcare subsidies have metastasized into a major threat to the nation’s fiscal and economic health.

The Unaffordable Healthcare Subsidies That Led to a Government Shutdown

The fiscal fight that resulted in the current federal government shutdown is, at its core, about the healthcare sector, spiraling healthcare costs, and federal subsidies.

Federal Revenue and Distributional Impacts of Limiting the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums

Policymakers are considering ways to extend the enhancements made to Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that expire at the end of the year, which could cost $350 billion over the next decade. Any expansion of the credits should be offset by reducing other healthcare subsidies or preferences in the tax code, the largest of which is the exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) premiums, estimated to cost more than $5 trillion over the next decade due to reduced income and payroll tax revenue.

Questions About Tax Cuts, Tariffs, and Reconciliation After the Election

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.

Placing Harris and Trump Tax Plans in Historical Context

Trump’s tariff hikes would rank as the the largest tax increase outside of wartime since 1940. Meanwhile, Harris’s tax plan would rank as the 6th largest tax increase outside of wartime since 1940.

Kamala Harris Tax Plan Ideas: Details and Analysis

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.  

ARPA’s Tax Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional by Appellate Court

The Fifth Circuit has affirmed states’ authority over their respective tax policies and has asserted that the offset clause—often called the “Tax Mandate”—of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has enough fiscal impact on a state’s budget so as to be coercive, as opposed to incentivizing.

Details and Analysis of President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal

President Biden is proposing extraordinarily large tax hikes on businesses and the top 1 percent of earners that would put the US in a distinctly uncompetitive international position and threaten the health of the US economy.

TCJA Family Provisions Offer Template for Tax Reform in 2025

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s changes to family tax policy serve as a reminder to avoid looking at tax reform provisions in a vacuum.

Lawmakers Envision Different Paths for the Child Tax Credit

As the TCJA expiration nears, lawmakers face difficult choices in reforming the CTC. While revenue, distributional and economic effects are important, lawmakers should also focus on simplifying the rules and reducing the administrative challenges.

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.

Details and Analysis of the American Families and Jobs Act

Details and analysis of the latest House GOP tax plan, the American Families and Jobs Act. Learn more about the House Republican tax plan.

Details and Analysis of President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Proposal

According to our analysis, President Biden’s budget would reduce long-run economic output by about 1.3 percent and eliminate 335,000 FTE jobs. See what tax policies the president is proposing.

Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Would Result in More Than $4.5 Trillion in Gross Tax Increases

President Biden’s new budget proposal outlines several major tax increases targeted at businesses and high-income individuals that would bring U.S. income tax rates far out of step with international norms.

Tax Policy in Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address

President Biden’s State of the Union Address outlined three tax proposals, including raising the tax on stock buybacks, imposing a billionaire minimum tax, and expanding the child tax credit.

Unemployment Insurance (UI) Taxes

Shaky Economic and Fiscal Outlook Requires Stable and Pro-Growth Tax Extenders Policy

Policymakers face a difficult balancing act this year in what is likely to be an unusual tax extenders season.

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.

Tax Filing Season: Options for Improvement

Efforts to improve the taxpayer experience should focus on the IRS’s operations and include structural improvements to the tax code.

Chaotic IRS Filing Season Shows the Perils of Running Social Policy Through the Tax Code

As the deadline for tax filing nears, the IRS faces scrutiny for its backlog of returns, inaccessible taxpayer service, and delays in issuing certain refunds.