The Next Tax Reform Should Build on Sound Tax Policy and Simplify the Tax Code
The tax code is ripe for simplification, especially as complicated and targeted provisions expire in 2028.
4 min read
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Tax Refunds and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
When taxpayers file their 2025 tax returns in 2026, many will see larger refunds than in recent years. That’s due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which reduced individual income taxes for 2025 by an estimated $129 billion.
4 min read
Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2022
As policymakers consider reforms to the individual income tax, understanding the types of income that make up the individual income tax base can help them understand the trade-offs of different changes to the tax system.
8 min read
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.
7 min read
Tax Complexity Now Costs the US Economy over $536 Billion Annually
Americans will spend almost 7.1 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2025. This is equal to 3.4 million full-time workers—almost the population of Los Angeles and nearly 38 times the workforce the IRS employed in FY 2024—doing nothing but tax return paperwork for a full year.
9 min read
Taxpayers Need the BLS to Stay Out of Politics
President Trump’s recent decision to replace the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics has the feeling of replacing the meteorologist and hoping you get better weather. But economic data affect government actions and could have surprising consequences. If nominee E.J. Antoni manipulates the statistics to make Mr. Trump look good, you could end up paying higher taxes.
Picking the Right Budgetary Offsets Key to Tax Reform Success
In a perilous economic and fiscal environment, with instability created by Trump’s trade war and publicly held debt on track to surpass the highest levels ever recorded within five years, a lot rides on how Republicans navigate tax and spending reforms in reconciliation.
6 min read
Tax Season Is Another Reminder That Our Tax Code Is Too Complex
A recent poll from the Tax Foundation found that most American taxpayers—regardless of age, education, or income level—do not understand basic income tax filing concepts.
National Tax Literacy Poll: Assessing Taxpayer Knowledge and Perceptions of the US Tax System
Taxes and their broader impact are generally overlooked in American education. Taxes influence earnings, budgets, voting, and decisions on where to live, but do American taxpayers understand the US tax system?
25 min read
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2025 Update
New IRS data shows the US federal income tax system continues to be progressive as high-income taxpayers pay the highest average income tax rates. Average tax rates for all income groups remain lower after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
6 min read
Repealing Head of Household Filing Status: Details and Analysis
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
Blog
Short FormTaxes in the Internet Age
Today marks 55 years since two students sent the first message across the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) between computers at four universities, which would later become the internet we enjoy today.
5 min read
Americans Abroad Need Compliance Cost Relief
Trump’s proposal would bring the US more in line with most other developed economies, which tax only those who live and work within their borders.
4 min read
Analysis of Harris’s Billionaire Minimum Tax on Unrealized Capital Gains
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
How Did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Simplify the Tax Code?
Not every change in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act simplified the tax code. However, the TCJA reduced compliance costs overall for individual filers, and allowing fundamental structural improvements to expire would make the tax code worse.
5 min read
Tax Complexity Now Costs the US Economy Over $546 Billion Annually
Americans will spend more than 7.9 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2024. This is equal to 3.8 million full-time workers doing nothing but tax return paperwork—roughly equal to the population of Los Angeles.
7 min read
Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2021
Reviewing reported income helps to understand the composition of the federal government’s revenue base and how Americans earn their taxable income. The individual income tax, the federal government’s largest source of revenue, is largely a tax on labor.
9 min read
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.
19 min read
National Tax Literacy Poll: Understanding the Tax Code
To make sound financial decisions and support better tax policy, taxpayers should understand the taxes they face. Unfortunately, most U.S. taxpayers do not know or are unsure of basic tax concepts.
6 min read