Tracking the Impact of the Trump Tariffs & Trade War
The Trump tariffs have not meaningfully altered the trade balance and amount to an average tax increase per US household of $900 in 2026.
57 min read
All Related Articles
Can Tax Reform Solve the Debt Problem—or Just Slow It?
This study simulates several large tax increases and consistently finds that even tax increases large enough to close the primary deficit in the near term will lose ground over time and fail to put the debt on a sustainable course.
41 min read
The Latest on the Global Tax Agreement
The agreement represents a major change for tax competition as well, and many countries will rethink their tax policies for multinationals. However, the US will continue to chart its own course, and other countries may prefer to do the same, depending on the final outcome of the G7 statement.
8 min read
Historical US Federal Individual Income Tax Rates & Brackets, 1862-2025
How do current federal individual income tax rates and brackets compare historically?
1 min read
Historical US Federal Capital Gains Tax Rates & Collections, 1913-2025
How have US federal capital gains tax rates and collections changed over time?
1 min read
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
Five Things to Know About Trump’s Global Minimum Tax Order
This week, the incoming Trump administration issued a day-one executive order on the global minimum tax agreement known as Pillar Two, which seeks to ensure multinational corporations pay at least 15 percent in income tax.
6 min read
The Unsustainable US Debt Course and Impacts of Potential Tax Changes
Given the poor state of the budget process and worsening debt trajectory, lawmakers should move boldly and quickly to address the issue, including via a fiscal commission process. Issues to consider should include reforms to both spending and taxes.
42 min read
Historical US Federal Corporate Income Tax Rates & Brackets, 1909-2025
How do current federal corporate tax rates and brackets compare historically?
1 min read
Testimony: Alternatives to Tariffs to Boost US Competitiveness
While tariffs are often presented as tools to enhance US competitiveness, a long history of evidence and recent experience shows they lead to increased costs for consumers and unprotected producers and harmful retaliation, which outweighs the benefits afforded to protected industries.
Harris’s America Forward Plan Should Cover Whole Economy, Not Just Favored Industries
Investment matters across the economy, and policymaking should reflect that.
4 min read
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.
5 min read
Can US Tax Reforms Keep Up with China?
How does tax policy shape a nation’s competitiveness? Today, we’re diving into the showdown between the US and China, exploring how China’s enticing tax incentives pose a formidable challenge to America’s economic supremacy.
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.
17 min read
Leveraging Tax Policy to Bolster US Economic Growth Amid Competition with China
Restoring expensing for R&D, machinery, and equipment; extending better cost recovery to structures investment; and avoiding raising the corporate tax rate would create a stronger, pro-investment policy environment for the US economy.
44 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
Blog
Short FormHow World War II Reshaped US Taxation
World War II shaped many aspects of the modern world, including the US tax code. But the dramatic changes to our system that military mobilization required didn’t subside when the fighting finished; they’ve persisted to today.
4 min read
How Do Import Tariffs Affect Exports?
When the government imposes a tariff, it may be trading jobs and production in one part of the economy for jobs in another part of the economy by increasing production costs for downstream industries.
6 min read
Harris Should Break With Biden, Trump on Trade
If Vice President Kamala Harris is elected the 47th U.S. president, she would inherit a trade war started by former President Donald Trump and continued by President Joe Biden. But she’d also have the chance to end it.
Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Taxes?
While both President Biden and Vice President Harris aim their proposed tax hikes on businesses and high earners, key differences between their tax ideas in the past reveal where Harris may take her tax policy platform in the 2024 campaign.
6 min read