The FairTax is a proposal to replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income tax, corporate income tax, estate and gift taxes, and payroll tax—with a national sales tax and rebate, abolishing the IRS in the process.
7 min read
A combination of long-standing IRS operational deficiencies, the agency’s temporary closure due to the pandemic, and the now-expired pandemic relief produced a perfect recipe for a paper backlog.
4 min read
While supporters of the federal estate tax may be correct that only a fraction of estate tax returns eventually pays the estate tax, IRS data shows that it disproportionately impacts estates tied to successful privately owned businesses. Thus, it acts as a second or third layer of federal tax on these successful businesses over the owners’ lifetime.
9 min read
President Biden proposed a 7-point hike in the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, a new minimum book tax on corporate profits, and higher taxes on international activity. We estimated these proposals would reduce the size of the economy (GDP) by 1.6 percent over the long run and eliminate 542,000 jobs.
6 min read
The Inflation Reduction Act focused more on enforcement and hiring more auditors rather than programs that make it easier for taxpayers to comply with the code and the IRS to administer it.
6 min read
In a pattern that has become all too common in recent decades, the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) added yet another layer of complexity to an already complex and burdensome federal tax code.
9 min read
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finds itself under fire often. Outdated technology, millions of unanswered calls, and cafeterias full of paper returns—it’s clear that America’s tax collector needs improvement. Jesse is joined by Courtney Kay-Decker and Jared Ballew, chair and vice chair (respectively) of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). They discuss ETAAC’s annual report that lays out what the IRS is doing right, and what it’s doing wrong, as the agency continues to see its duties grow.
The Inflation Reduction Act increases the IRS’s budget by roughly $80 billion over 10 years. The money is broken into four main categories—enforcement, operations support, business system modernization, and taxpayer services—as well as a few other small items such as an exploratory study on the potential of a free-file system.
6 min read
Some 40 years ago, the U.S. dealt with high inflation and slow economic growth. Then as now, the solution is a long-term focus on stronger economic growth and sustainable federal budgets.
5 min read
From policy to filing, from accounting to compliance: technology is truly shaping the future of taxes. We chat with Ben Alarie, CEO of Blue J, about how companies are utilizing technology to comply with the tax code and how policymakers can use technology to advance tax laws that support an ever-evolving economy.
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.
10 min read
The United States needs to grow its way out of inflation and set the economy up for continued growth—the tax code provides tools for policymakers to do just that.
3 min read
Efforts to improve the taxpayer experience should focus on the IRS’s operations and include structural improvements to the tax code.
4 min read
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.
5 min read