Canada’s Tax-Free Savings Accounts Are a Huge Success. U.S. Lawmakers Should Take Note
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
Featured Articles
Saving Americans’ Dwindling Savings
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.
Dwindling Savings and Increasing Financial Stress Highlights Need for Tax Reforms
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
Details and Analysis of President Joe Biden’s Campaign Tax Plan
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
Analysis of Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders’ Wealth Tax Plans
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
Tax Policy and Entrepreneurship: A Framework for Analysis
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
An Overview of Capital Gains Taxes
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
Evaluating Mark-to-Market Taxation of Capital Gains
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
The Impact of a Financial Transaction Tax
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 readAll Related Articles
A High Tax Rate on Star Inventors Lowers Total Innovation
Findings from a new study suggest that while a policy agenda to revive innovation must include an assortment of changes – including greater access to mentorship – tax policy matters too.
2 min read
Sanders’ Estate Tax Plan Won’t Likely Raise the Revenue Intended
While progressivity may look appealing—particularly at a time when policymakers in Congress seem to be competing on how best to extract revenue from the wealthiest in the country—it may not raise the revenue intended.
2 min read
The Real Lesson of 70 Percent Tax Rates on Entrepreneurial Income
The fall and then rise of entrepreneurial income claimed on the wealthy’s 1040 tax returns clearly tracks the seeming decline of inequality from 1950 to 1980, followed by the sudden rise in inequality since 1986. The shifting composition of income claimed by the rich due to changes in tax laws explains this illusion.
12 min read
Unclear if Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal is Constitutional
There is a chance that Senator Warren’s proposed wealth tax would be found unconstitutional, but opinions are mixed and the precedents go both ways.
2 min read
Sen. Warren’s Wealth Tax Is Problematic
Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently proposed a wealth tax on high-net-worth individuals, a type of tax that is poorly targeted, difficult to administer, and raises constitutional questions.
4 min read
Unequal Tax Treatment Is Contributing to Rising Debt Levels for Entrepreneurs
A recent paper discusses two main trends related to U.S. entrepreneurs: the decrease in the number of entrepreneurs and the increase in their borrowing. Entrepreneurs have increased their debt holdings relative to their assets over the past three decades.
3 min read
New IRS Data Reiterates Shortcomings of the Estate Tax
The estate tax’s narrow base and high rate limit its ability to generate revenue. The estate tax discourages economic growth by discouraging investment.
3 min read
New Federal Reserve Paper: State Corporate Taxes Hurt Entrepreneurship
For every 1 percentage point increase in a state’s corporate tax rate, employment in start-up firms declines 3.7 percent, according to a recent Federal Reserve study.
2 min readState Inheritance and Estate Taxes: Rates, Economic Implications, and the Return of Interstate Competition
Estate and inheritance taxes reduce investment, discourage business expansion, and sometimes drive wealthy taxpayers out of state. It’s little wonder that states are under pressure to reduce or eliminate them.
44 min read
Losing the Future: The Decline of U.S. Saving and Investment
Saving and investment are necessary for a society to adequately provide for its future. Saving and investment have declined substantially as a percentage of GDP over the last 40 years. American private saving barely keeps pace with total government deficits. On the whole, the country saves very little. American investment barely keeps pace with depreciation; U.S. private and public capital stock and infrastructure deteriorates almost as quickly as it can be repaired or replaced with new investment.
15 min read