Letting the SALT cap slip further upwards would undercut the TCJA’s long-term legacy, worsening the fiscal outlook of the tax package and providing an unneeded benefit to higher earners.
4 min read
We break down the House GOP’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill—a sweeping tax package designed to extend key parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act before they expire in 2026.
Lawmakers have a prime opportunity to achieve a more stable economy through the debate about the tax code that is now ramping up.
As the current tax package stands, the House’s use of temporary policy is leaving most of the economic growth opportunities on the table.
2 min read
As lawmakers continue to debate the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” they should abandon temporary and complex policy in favor of simplicity and stability.
4 min read
The tax bill prioritizes politics over economic growth, writes Daniel Bunn.
Political popularity isn’t always a reliable gauge of sound policy—and that’s certainly true of President Donald Trump’s idea to eliminate taxes on tips, bonuses, and overtime pay.
The Republican party, led by President Trump, has decided that growth is no longer a priority. This is evident in the president’s trade war, the minimal opposition among Republican members of Congress, and the seemingly endless supply of bad policy ideas that will do little to support growth.
Catastrophic rhetoric about US manufacturing is not justified. The tariffs are extremely counterproductive. Still, all is not well in the US manufacturing sector. What should we do?
7 min read
President Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of entirely replacing the federal income tax with new tariffs. Recently, he has said that when tariff revenues come in, he will use them to replace or substantially cut income taxes for people making under $200,000.
8 min read
The trend of tax exemptions on tips, overtime, and bonuses may sound like a win for workers, but it is a shortsighted fix with long-term drawbacks.
11 min read
Could tariffs, a form of government finance heavily relied upon in the 18th and 19th centuries, function as a major source of revenue for a modern, developed economy in the 21st century?
16 min read
The Trump administration recently announced a new round of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent, assigned to nearly every US trading partner. There’s a problem with its notion of “reciprocity,” though. The White House’s tariffs are intended to be real, while the so-called tariffs it is responding to are fake.
Attempting to defend Trump’s tariffs, the White House points to studies that show they raise prices, cut manufacturing output, and lead to costly retaliation.
Despite characterizing the tariffs as “reciprocal,” the White House didn’t actually measure tariffs, currency manipulation, or trade barrier policies employed by other countries. Instead, it drew its estimates from something else entirely: bilateral trade deficits in goods.
7 min read
President Trump has announced that new tariffs will go into effect on April 2, following several weeks of threats. These new tariffs are likely to be broader in scope than the limited ones implemented thus far. So who is likely to pay for them?
7 min read
The individual income tax has plenty of problems, but in some respects the tax has improved in recent decades. Unfortunately, several Trump administration proposals would move us in the wrong direction, including the president’s call to drop taxes on tips.
Policymakers should aim for neutral tax policies that support stable revenues like VATs and avoid inviting trade conflicts with discriminatory and economically harmful policies like DSTs.
6 min read
With the imposition of American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on March 12th, the European Union was officially pulled into the global trade war.
Whether we look at it as consumers of these goods, or as middle-class workers who transform them, low-cost goods have been the underpinning of American prosperity.