Business Tax Expenditures, Credits, and Deductions

Tax Expenditure

Semiconducting Tax Policy

If you’ve read any headlines in the last few months, you’ve no doubt heard about the semiconductor shortage gripping global supply chain—and if you’ve tried to buy anything from a toaster to a car, you’ve witnessed it firsthand. But what’s really driving today’s crisis, can the U.S. manufacture its way out of it, and what role does tax and economic policy have to play in all this?

Policymakers Offer Proposals to Fix Three Upcoming Tax Changes

Three upcoming tax law changes scheduled by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to help offset its revenue losses would be canceled by proposed legislation that would prevent the tax treatment of investment from worsening over the coming years.

The Impact of the Biden Administration’s Tax Proposals by State and Congressional District

The redistribution of income from the Biden administration’s tax proposals would involve many winners and losers, not only across different types of taxpayers but also geographically across the country. Launch our new interactive map to see average tax changes by state and congressional district over the budget window from 2022 to 2031. 

U.S. Corporate Tax Expenditures and Effective Tax Rates in Line with OECD Peers

Last week, an analysis by Reuters suggested that U.S. firms pay less income tax than foreign competitors, in part because “the U.S. tax code is unusually generous with tax breaks and deductions,” also known as corporate tax expenditures. However, the Reuters analysis is at odds with other data and studies indicating that U.S. corporate tax expenditures and effective tax rates are about on par with those in peer countries in the OECD.

Details and Analysis of President Biden’s FY 2022 Budget Proposals

Explore President Biden budget proposals, including tax and spending in American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. See Biden tax and spending proposals.

Tracking the 2021 Biden Tax Plan and Federal Tax Proposals

Taxes are once again at the forefront of the public policy debate as legislators grapple with how to fund new infrastructure spending, among other priorities. Our tax tracker helps you stay up-to-date as new tax plans emerge from the Biden administration and Congress.

Details and Analysis of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan

Details and analysis of the American Jobs Plan tax proposals. Learn more about the major tax changes in the proposed Biden infrastructure plan.

Montana Adopts Individual and Corporate Income Tax Reform

Montana adopted structural reforms to both individual and corporate income taxes during the recently adjourned legislative session, enacting three bills reducing individual tax rates, simplifying the state’s individual tax system, repealing 16 tax credits, and changing the apportionment factor for corporate income tax.

Tax Foundation Webinar Recaps the Complexities of the 2021 Tax Filing Season

During the pandemic, economic relief administered through the tax code exploded as Congress passed nearly $6 trillion of legislation into law. That left the 2021 tax filing season, which ended May 17, with complications that still linger.

CBO Report on R&D and Tax Policy in the Pharmaceutical Industry

In a new report, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzes federal policies that influence R&D spending in the pharmaceutical industry. The report highlights how taxes affect R&D investment incentives, underscoring the importance of structuring the tax code so that it is not biased against investment.

Location Matters 2021: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business

A landmark comparison of corporate tax costs in all 50 states, Location Matters provides a comprehensive calculation of real-world tax burdens, going beyond headline rates to demonstrate how tax codes impact businesses and offering policymakers a road map to improvement.

Tax Policy in the First 100 Days of the Biden Administration

In his first 100 days as president, Joe Biden has proposed more than a dozen significant changes to the U.S. tax code that would raise upwards of $3 trillion in revenue and reduce incentives to invest, save, and work in the United States.

Common Tax Questions, Answered

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.

Reviewing the Federal Tax Treatment of Research & Development Expenses

Simplifying the R&D credit, making it more accessible for smaller firms, and ensuring full cost recovery for R&D expenses by canceling the upcoming R&D amortization are three things policymakers should consider when trying to improve the tax code for R&D.

Biden’s Corporate Minimum Book Tax Narrows, but Problems and Uncertainties Remain

The corporate tax base should be reformed directly, rather than piecemeal through a complicated and burdensome separate tax applicable to a small number of companies.

Denying Deductions for Pharma Ads Is Bad Tax Policy

The “End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act” would prohibit companies from deducting the costs of prescription drug advertisements directed at the public. However, the bill’s title is a misnomer: the deduction is not a tax subsidy.

President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Raises Taxes on U.S. Production

An increase in the federal corporate tax rate to 28 percent would raise the U.S. federal-state combined tax rate to 32.34 percent, higher than every country in the OECD, the G7, and all our major trade partners and competitors including China.

Wyden’s Energy Tax Proposal a Mixed Bag

As the Biden administration turns toward infrastructure, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.) has suggested including reforms to the way the tax code subsidizes energy production in such a package, eliminating 44 “tax breaks” for various activities in the energy sector and replacing them with only three.

Facts and Figures 2021: How Does Your State Compare?

Our updated 2021 edition of 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.