The 12-year history of Tax Foundation’s ITCI shows that tax policy is constantly in flux around the world and that tax policy design choices matter for economic growth.
5 min read
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
12 min read
Foreign R&D generally complements domestic innovation rather than substituting for it, so penalizing foreign R&D weakens US firms in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and in domestic production that depends on global scale.
7 min read
Policymakers are increasingly considering taxes on data processing and other businesses’ digital services, but these taxes increase costs at many stages of the production process for virtually all businesses, not just tech-oriented businesses.
7 min read
The EU public country-by-country data provides information on taxes and profits that do not align with standard financial disclosure requirements.
6 min read
Because withholding taxes can create double taxation and administrative friction even where foreign tax credits are available, the European Commission’s 2026 Tax Omnibus proposal to eliminate them on dividend, interest, and royalty payments between EU companies regardless of holding percentage would foster stronger cross-border savings and investment.
6 min read
A destination-based value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST) is a better instrument for taxing digital consumption by avoiding cascading. Recent experience shows that governments can tax digital consumption with a better structure than DSTs.
15 min read
Many countries incentivize business investment in research and development (R&D), intending to foster innovation. A common approach is to provide direct government funding for R&D activity. However, a significant number of jurisdictions also offer R&D tax incentives.
5 min read
If you want more energy production, taxing producers is the wrong place to start. And if you want to tax companies more if they’re making big profits, the corporate income tax already does that.
Poland is currently moving forward with legislation aimed at introducing a windfall profits tax. In doing so, it is following a broader European trend of renewed interest in such taxes in response to rising fuel prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
6 min read
Introduced by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Michael Bennet (D-CO), The Taxing Buybacks from Big Oil Windfalls Act would raise the stock buyback excise tax from 1 percent to 25 percent for large oil and gas companies.
4 min read
Full expensing under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act does not neutralize the tariff burden on imported goods, as former White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran asserts.
8 min read
President Donald Trump has decided against a clean extension of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), allowing the bloc of countries to enter a prolonged period of annual reviews, renegotiations, and, possibly, a shift to bilateral deals.
Short FormJust as many parts of American life have transformed over the past 250 years, so too has the federal tax system. While most taxes levied in the 18th century are still levied in some form today, the federal government’s reliance on them, the complexity of the tax code, and Americans’ overall tax burdens have shifted considerably.
5 min read
The European Commission’s new Tax Omnibus proposal marks a notable step towards improving the simplicity and competitiveness of the EU Single Market.
8 min read
Pennsylvania lawmakers are looking to impose the Commonwealth’s existing telecom gross receipts tax (GRT) on companies providing digital advertising services in Pennsylvania.
5 min read
The new data disclosures will draw significant attention in 2026 and beyond. However, because the data is rooted in financial accounting concepts, affected by timing issues, and shaped by inconsistent reporting regimes, it is poorly suited for drawing strong conclusions about tax policy or corporate behavior.
7 min read
It is good to see senators talking about the Social Security crisis that is rapidly unfolding. But any serious proposal has to grapple with the trade-offs of different reforms and accept that the fix will come from both sides of the ledger: taxes and expenditures.
5 min read
Short FormBritish taxation on the American colonies was a major catalyst for the American Revolution, but most of the tax revolts leading up to the war were in response to one tax type: excise taxes.
4 min read
With nearly 2 million US jobs tied to trade with Canada and Mexico, stalling renewal — or withdrawing outright — would compound tariff uncertainty at exactly the wrong time.
6 min read