Get answers to some of the tax policy questions we hear most often from taxpayers, businesses, and journalists. Learn everything from the basics of who pays taxes and the difference between credits and deductions, to how taxes impact the economy and what constitutes sound tax policy. Discover additional resources to explore each question and topic in more depth.
Learn where and when taxes originated and how they resemble taxes we have today. Understand how the American tax code developed from the beginning of the colonies. Learn about some of the weirder taxes throughout history, designed not just to raise revenue, but influence behavior too.
Every policy has trade-offs, but a well-designed carbon tax has the potential to protect the environment without harming consumers, jobs, or businesses.
The better you understand taxes, the better equipped you are to make decisions about them. All taxes can be divided into three basic types: taxes on what you buy, taxes on what you earn, and taxes on what you own.
Even though tariffs are invisible, their effects clearly are not. They might be sold as a tool to strengthen the economy, but tariffs are just taxes that make everyone worse off.
Understanding how tax brackets work can inform decisions about performing extra work through a second job or overtime, or pursuing new streams of income.
Taxing cannabis is brand-new territory. While many states see recreational cannabis as a potential gold mine for tax revenue, the reality of designing a new tax is more complicated.
Discover why there are better and worse ways for governments to raise a dollar of revenue. That’s because no two taxes impact the economy the same.