Featured Articles
All Related Articles
Shifting Germany’s Tax Burden from Labor to Consumption Requires a Broad VAT Base
Shifting Germany’s tax mix away from labor to consumption remains a sound policy route to strengthen the country’s labor supply, but further eroding the VAT base with preferential rates for selected goods and services would counteract this goal by depleting the extra revenue for labor tax cuts while providing less-targeted relief for low-income households.
6 min read
Windfall Profits Taxes on Oil and Gas Should Be Left in the Past
Windfall taxes, particularly those imposed on the oil and gas industry, often appear as a quick fix for governments seeking to raise revenue during periods of high commodity prices. However, while these taxes may offer short-term revenues, they can also trigger negative consequences that undermine their intended purpose.
21 min read
Tariffs by Another Name: How Discriminatory Taxes on Cross-Border Services Threaten America’s Export Edge
The US, as the world’s largest services exporter, has a stronger interest in combating discriminatory services taxation than in pursuing tariffs.
44 min read
Ideas, Not Mandates: Lessons Learned from a Decade of International Tax Reform
The past decade’s record suggests that countries have reliable legislative methods to improve their tax systems through ordinary tax reforms.
22 min read
How Smart Policy Can Unlock VAT’s Revenue Potential
Closing the EU’s value-added tax (VAT) actionable policy gap could yield €773 billion in government revenue—four times the EU’s 2026 budget.
8 min read
Cigarette Taxes in Europe, 2026
Cigarette smokers in the European Union pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves. Our latest map illustrates the wide variance in cigarette excise taxes across EU Member States.
6 min read
Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Road Taxes and Funding by State, 2026
The amount of revenue states raise through roadway-related revenues varies significantly across the US. Only two states raise enough revenue to fully cover their highway spending.
5 min read
A Competitive Tax Code Doesn’t Have to Sacrifice Revenue
Structural reforms such as broadening tax bases, improving cost recovery, and shifting toward less distortive taxes can improve competitiveness without necessarily reducing revenue.
7 min read
FAQs About Border Adjustment
What is a border adjustment? Is it a new idea? How would it work in practice?
11 min read
Utah’s Digital Ad Tax, by Any Other Name, Is Just as Legally Fraught
A digital advertising tax in Utah will increase costs for Utah businesses and expose the state to complicated legal battles.
4 min read
2025 European Tax Policy Scorecard
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
55 min read
Poland Considering a Second Harmful Digital Tax
Poland is proposing to broaden and raise its digital services tax (DST) from 1.5 percent to 3 percent. Because DSTs tax revenues, not profits, a company with a 10 percent profit margin would face a 30 percent effective tax rate on digital services provided in Poland.
6 min read
Lessons From European Geoeconomics & The Future Of International Tax Policy
European policymakers would be wise to refocus tax and trade policies on what is good for Europe rather than trying to change policies in countries beyond European borders. Meanwhile, the Trump administration would be wise to recognize that the transatlantic relationship is a geoeconomic asset that can be mutually beneficial.
Three Global Tax Policy Ideas in Need of a Reality Check
Formulary apportionment, global tax harmonization, and broad tax increases on services all face design, implementation, and economic barriers. When designing tax systems, policymakers should focus on doing the basic things well and avoid harmful policies that could stunt growth.
7 min read
When Taxing AI, Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
AI technology has a wide range of potential economic outcomes. It would be a mistake to tailor tax policy to the extreme end of that range. Still, policymakers shouldn’t do nothing: they should instead make tax reforms that are sound regardless of which AI scenario emerges.
7 min read
Even After Exemptions, More than Half of Food Products Continue to Face Trump Tariffs
The Trump tariffs will likely raise the cost of food for Americans, particularly for liqueurs and spirits, baked goods, coffee, fish, and beer.
4 min read
The EU’s Questionable VAT Policy
The value-added tax (VAT) compliance gap—the additional VAT revenue that could be collected if all taxpayers, consumers, and businesses fully complied with VAT rules—continues to increase, reaching €128 billion in 2023.
8 min read
VAT Rates in Europe, 2026
More than 175 countries worldwide—including all major European countries—levy a value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services. EU Member States’ VAT rates vary across countries, though they’re somewhat harmonized by the EU.
5 min read
How Scandinavian Countries Pay for Their Government Spending
Scandinavian countries are well known for their broad social safety nets and their public funding of services such as universal health care, higher education, parental leave, and child and elderly care. High levels of government spending naturally require high levels of taxation. So, how do these countries raise their tax revenues?
7 min read