The United States has long been a forward-thinking country that builds for tomorrow through saving, investment, and entrepreneurship. Saving gives us security, investment gives us rising incomes through enhanced productivity, and entrepreneurship drives economic growth and dynamism, creating new opportunities.
However, over the last fifty years, all three have been eroded. Citizens aren’t saving enough, businesses aren’t investing enough, and the country is undergoing a retreat in the level of economic growth and dynamism.
As it is, the U.S. tax code places substantial burdens on each of these essential factors of our economy. What’s worse, while other nations have become more attractive, there has been a proliferation of proposals in the U.S. that would only cause further harm—wealth taxes, “mark-to-market” capital gains taxes, estate taxes, and financial transaction taxes.
Below, we offer in-depth analysis of these and other proposals, which highlight a harmful trend in tax policy. Americans are industrious, entrepreneurial, and innovative. Policymakers should ensure we have a tax code that enhances those qualities, not hinders them.
Universal savings accounts would boost savings for low-income households, allowing them to better withstand economic shocks, such as pandemics and recessions, and plan for major expenses, such as an expanded family, education, and housing needs.
36 min read
Americans are saving less. While the U.S. saving rate has regularly lagged behind its peers, it has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Increasingly, people are turning to credit cards to fill the gaps in their budgets.
For U.S. policymakers looking to encourage greater saving and financial security, particularly among low- and moderate-income households facing serious affordability challenges, the experiences in both the UK and Canada indicate that universal savings accounts are an effective policy tool to help reach that goal.
4 min read
For most Americans, saving is a taxing experience. Our neighbors to the north have found a better solution—and U.S. lawmakers should take note.
5 min read
The uncertain future of American finances in a time of potential economic instability points to the need for tax reforms that encourage individuals to save and build financial security in a relatively simple way, such as through universal savings accounts.
6 min read
What has President Joe Biden proposed in terms of tax policy changes? Our experts provide the details and analyze the potential economic, revenue, and distributional impacts.
23 min read
New modeling finds that the wealth taxes proposed by Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders would raise significantly less revenue than promised, face serious administrative and compliance challenges, and would increase foreign ownership of U.S. capital.
38 min read
A key element of America’s dynamism problem is a drop in entrepreneurship. Removing tax barriers for entrepreneurs would improve America’s dynamism while making America’s tax code more neutral, efficient, and simple for all taxpayers.
25 min read
Capital gains taxes create a burden on saving because they are an additional layer of taxes on a given dollar of income. The capital gains tax rate cannot be directly compared to individual income tax rates, because the additional layers of tax that apply to capital gains income must also be part of the discussion.
14 min read
The success of any mark-to-market system lies in its ability to accurately value tangible and non-tangible (or non-tradable) assets such as intellectual property and brand-value recognition. Administrative regulations, guidance, and enforcement are the Achilles’ heel of any plan to annually tax accrued gains.
17 min read
Policymakers should exercise caution in deciding whether to enact an FTT given the uncertainty regarding the FTT’s ability to raise revenue and the significant damage it could cause to the U.S. financial system
39 min read
Individuals respond to taxes by changing their behavior. Hence, when there are tax differences between countries, some might respond by moving to a lower-tax area. For higher-income individuals, the benefits of moving as a result of higher taxes are greater because they have more income or wealth at stake.
4 min read
Seeking new sources of funding, New York and New Jersey—two states at the heart of global financial markets—are considering financial transaction taxes.
5 min read
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have both released proposals to tax capital gains at ordinary income rates for the wealthiest Americans. As part of a broader platform to address income inequality, Biden and Sanders suggest increasing current capital gains rates on taxpayers with income over $1 million and $250,000, respectively.
21 min read
FTTs are unreliable sources of revenue and can increase risky financial activities. When looking to address income inequality and raise revenue, lawmakers should look to alternatives to this complicated and distortive tax.
5 min read
In a way, one should sometimes be most wary of taxes with a very, very, very low rate. It suggests a certain hesitance on the part of the policymaker, as if he knows he’s playing with something potentially very damaging.
4 min read
New modeling finds that the wealth taxes proposed by Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders would raise significantly less revenue than promised, face serious administrative and compliance challenges, and would increase foreign ownership of U.S. capital.
38 min read
Policymakers should exercise caution in deciding whether to enact an FTT given the uncertainty regarding the FTT’s ability to raise revenue and the significant damage it could cause to the U.S. financial system
39 min read
When considering options to eliminate the deferral advantage of capital gains taxation, a lookback charge provides a reasonable solution for taxing hard-to-value assets. However, policymakers need to understand the limitations of a lookback charge compared to both mark-to-market taxation and the current system.
16 min read
The “Real Deal” would increase the tax burden on saving, investing, and working in the United States, and reduce the global competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
3 min read
The success of any mark-to-market system lies in its ability to accurately value tangible and non-tangible (or non-tradable) assets such as intellectual property and brand-value recognition. Administrative regulations, guidance, and enforcement are the Achilles’ heel of any plan to annually tax accrued gains.
17 min read
A low wealth tax rate is equivalent to a high-rate income tax. The interaction between wealth taxes and the existing income taxes must be considered when analyzing a wealth tax plan.
6 min read
Biden, Sanders, and Warren have staked out similar plans to increase capital gains taxes on the wealthiest Americans. While all three candidates have called for taxing capital gains at ordinary income rates, the phase-in levels and top marginal tax rates vary.
5 min read
Only three European countries levy a net wealth tax, namely Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands levy wealth taxes on selected assets, but not on an individual’s net wealth per se.
3 min read
Taken together, these proposed tax changes would significantly raise marginal and effective tax rates and increase the cost of capital, all of which would lead to a reduced level of output and less revenue than anticipated.
5 min read
Instead of raising revenue from a narrow tax base through high tax rates, policymakers should identify options to raise revenue efficiently through broad-based taxes consistent with sound tax policy.
4 min read
Elizabeth Warren released a detailed plan on how she would fund Medicare For All, proposing a wealth tax, financial transactions tax, mark-to-market taxation of capital gains income, and a country-by-county minimum tax, among other reforms.
5 min read
Removing step-up in basis would encourage taxpayers to realize capital gains and it would plug a hole in the current income tax, while increasing federal revenue. Combined, however, with the estate tax, this would result in a significant tax burden on certain saving by requiring both the appreciation in and total value of transferred property to be taxed at death
2 min read
JCT’s report on capital gains elasticities reminds us that capital gains realizations, at least under a tax system that allows deferral, are sensitive to tax rates. Moving to mark-to-market taxation of all capital gains would remove this sensitivity by taxing capital gains annually.
4 min read
Facing an $838 million budget shortfall, a looming pension crisis, and an aggressive spending wish list, some Chicago policymakers and activists are expressing interest in a laundry list of new and higher taxes that could, collectively, raise as much as an additional $4.5 billion a year.
6 min read