Combination Options
Each combination below packages several of the guide’s individual reform options into a single scenario and models their combined effects on the economy, the deficit, and the distribution of after-tax income.
- Combination 1Broaden the Base, Lower the Rates
This option combination broadens the individual income tax base by tightening the itemized deduction limitation to 28 percent while lowering all individual income tax rates by 10 percent across the board.
- Combination 2Narrowing the Tax Base and Raising Tax Rates
This option combination narrows the individual income tax base by restoring the personal exemption while raising ordinary individual tax rates in each bracket by 10 percent across the board.
- Combination 3Efforts to Increase US Economic Growth
This option combination would encourage long-run economic growth in the United States by repealing tariffs imposed on US imports since 2017 and replacing the corporate income tax with a destination-based cash flow tax. By reducing marginal tax rates on work and investment, both policies would encourage greater long-run economic output.
- Combination 4Raise Taxes on the Wealthy and Corporations
This option combination raises taxes on high-income households and corporations by increasing the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent, the top individual income tax rate to 50 percent, and the top tax rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to 30 percent.
- Combination 5Reduce Corporate and Individual Taxes and Implement a Value-Added Tax
This option combination imposes a 5 percent value-added tax (VAT) and uses the new tax revenue to reduce other individual and corporate taxes.
- Combination 6Restructure the Income Tax — Three Brackets, Broader Base
This option combination restructures the individual income tax. It consolidates the current individual income tax brackets into three rates of 10, 25, and 35 percent and eliminates the home mortgage interest deduction, the charitable deduction, the individual alternative minimum tax, and the state and local tax (SALT) deduction.
- Combination 7Flat 30 Percent Income Tax with Expanded Credits
This option combination replaces the graduated individual income tax with a single flat rate, broadens the base, and expands refundable credits for low-income workers.
- Combination 8Reform Tax Treatment of Business Income
This option combination reforms the tax treatment of business income by repealing the Section 199A passthrough deduction, lowering the top marginal tax rate on ordinary income from 37 percent to 35 percent, providing full expensing for all capital investment, and flipping the tax treatment of interest to disallow deductions for interest expenses and not tax interest income received.
- Combination 9Redistribution — Expand Credits, Tighten Deductions
This option combination redistributes after-tax income toward lower-income taxpayers by expanding refundable credits while broadening the base at the top. It tightens the itemized deduction limitation, doubles the earned income tax credit for workers without qualifying children, and makes the child tax credit fully refundable.
- Combination 10Increase Standard Deduction by 25 Percent and Raise Top Rate to 50 Percent
This option combination increases the value of the standard deduction for all filers by 25 percent and raises the top ordinary individual tax rate from 37 percent to 50 percent. The standard deduction is adjusted for inflation annually.
About the Authors
Erica York is Vice President of Federal Tax Policy with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. Her analysis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and other national and international media outlets.
Garrett Watson is Director of Policy Analysis at the Tax Foundation, where he conducts research on federal and state tax policy. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, the Associated Press and other major outlets.
Dr. Huaqun Li is Senior Economist, Director of Modeling Projects at the Tax Foundation. She focuses on developing and maintaining the Foundation’s Taxes and Growth Model, which models the budgetary and economic effects of changes to federal tax policy.
Dr. William McBride is the Chief Economist & Stephen J. Entin Fellow in Economics at the Tax Foundation, where he oversees major research projects primarily related to reforming the federal tax code, advancing sound tax policy, and improving the federal government’s fiscal outlook.
Alex Durante is a Senior Economist at the Tax Foundation, working on federal tax policy and model development. Alex worked as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Board and served as a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers.
Alex Muresianu is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Tax Foundation, focused on federal tax policy. Previously working on the federal team as an intern in the summer of 2018 and as a research assistant in summer 2020. He attended Tufts University, graduating with a degree in economics and minors in finance and political science.
Peter Van Ness
Peter Van Ness is a Research Software Developer at the Tax Foundation working on federal tax policy and model development. Peter previously worked as a research assistant at another think tank and as a data analyst at a consulting firm.
Aleksei Shilov
Aleksei Shilov is a Research Software developer at the Tax Foundation working on economic model development and federal tax policy. Aleksei joined the Tax Foundation as an intern in January 2025. He holds a B.S. in computer science and a minor in economics from Northeastern University and is currently based in Boston, MA.
Daniel Bunn is President and CEO of the Tax Foundation. Daniel has been with the organization since 2018 and, prior to becoming President, successfully built its Center for Global Tax Policy, expanding the Tax Foundation’s reach and impact around the world. Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Daniel worked in the United States Senate at the Joint Economic Committee.