Business Tax Expenditures, Credits, and Deductions

A Regulatory Tax Hike on U.S. Multinationals

While much of the policy focus has been on proposals embedded in the Build Back Better agenda, a meaningful tax hike for multinational companies has already been adopted.

10 Tax Reforms for Growth and Opportunity

By reducing the tax code’s current barriers to investment and saving and simplifying its complex rules, lawmakers would greatly enhance the ability of Americans to pursue new ideas, create more opportunities, and build financial security for themselves and their families.

Large Spread in Tax Treatment of Sports Betting Operators

Since 2018, 30 states and the District and Columbia have legalized and imposed taxes on sports betting. States that have yet to legalize, but which may do so, should pay attention to the impact of tax design in states that already have legal and taxed sports betting—specifically tax base design.

A Holiday Tradition: Tax Extenders Slated to Expire at End of 2021

Tax extenders this year can be split into three rough groups: expiring parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), expiring parts of various COVID-19 economic relief packages, and the Island of Misfit Extenders.

Patching Spain’s Tax Code Won’t Attract Investors

Spain should follow the example of Madrid, the country’s most competitive region. A more efficient income tax system is a better objective than just focusing on incentives for foreigners to change their tax residence.

Red Flags Emerge in Build Back Better Book Minimum Tax, Interest Expense Limitation

The Build Back Better Act would raise taxes to pay for social spending programs. But the design of some of the tax increases may end up hurting private pensions, among other problems.

2022 Tax Brackets

The IRS recently released the new inflation adjusted 2022 tax brackets and rates. Explore updated credits, deductions, and exemptions, including the standard deduction & personal exemption, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), capital gains brackets, qualified business income deduction (199A), and the annual exclusion for gifts.

Spain’s 2022 Budget Unsurprisingly Comes with More Tax Hikes

While other countries in Europe are working towards introducing tax cuts or delaying the introduction of new taxes to stimulate economic recovery by supporting business investment and employment, Spain is putting more fiscal pressure on businesses.

Lawmakers Consider Untested and Complex Policies to Fund Reconciliation Bill

Congress is debating new ways to raise revenue that would make the tax code more complex and more difficult to administer. The new proposals—imposing an alternative minimum tax on corporate book income, applying an excise tax on stock buybacks, and, at one point this week, a tax on unrealized capital gains for billionaires—are unreliable and highly complex ways to raise revenue.

Coloradans to Vote on Structurally Unsound Property and Cannabis Tax Changes

Reviewing Business Tax Expenditures: Credit Union Tax Exemption

Policymakers should carefully analyze tax expenditures before categorizing one as a loophole—some tax expenditures are important structural elements of the tax code while others are unsound.

Qualified Business Asset Investment (QBAI) Exemption

Reviewing Wyden’s Reconciliation Tax Policy Proposals

Congressional lawmakers are putting together a reconciliation bill to enact much of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Many lawmakers including Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), however, want to make their own mark on the legislation.

Don’t Add More Temporary Tax Policies in Budget Reconciliation

Temporary policy creates uncertainty for taxpayers and scheduling more expirations will add to the already-expiring provisions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017.

Expense Allocation: A Hidden Tax on Domestic Activities and Foreign Profits

While arcane, expense allocation rules are relevant to current debates because they result in a heavier tax burden for U.S. companies under current law than the recently negotiated global minimum tax proposal.

Analysis of Sen. Wyden’s Pass-through Deduction Proposal

Sen. Wyden recently introduced the Small Business Tax Fairness Act—the impact of which we modeled—to reform the Section 199A pass-through business deduction created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. The provision currently allows taxpayers to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income from their taxable income, subject to certain limitations.

How Biden’s Tax Plans Could Negatively Impact Housing

While President Biden has many proposals aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing, including tax credits, his plans to raise business taxes could hinder that goal.

Tax Treatment of Nuclear Energy Should Be Simplified, Neutral, with Renewable Energy Sources

Tackling climate change and shifting the economy towards renewable energy has been a key part of the Biden administration’s agenda. However, this effort must first confront an overly complicated and non-neutral tax code, particularly in how it treats nuclear energy, for the White House to reach its ambitious goals.

Senator Warren’s Corporate Book Tax Is Wrong Way to Fund New Spending

The arguments for a new surtax on corporate book income misconstrues why there are differences between a corporation’s taxable income and book income.

Three Reasons Why Full Cost Recovery Is Right Even if Assets Increase in Value

The ideal treatment is to match the tax code to a firm’s cash flow—allow immediate deductions for all expenses, including all forms of investment, while taxing the resulting returns from the investments.