All taxes tell a story, and today we’ll explore how taxes influenced Bob Dylan’s decision to sell his music catalog, how the “chicken tax” reshaped the auto industry, and how the historic “tax on air and light” had profound effects on architecture and living conditions.
BEAT is intended to address a legitimate problem, and there are virtues to BEAT’s overall strategic approach; however, its execution leaves room for improvement.
7 min read
As tempting as inheritance, estate, and gift taxes might look—especially when the OECD notes them as a way to reduce wealth inequality—their limited capacity to collect revenue and their negative impact on entrepreneurial activity, saving, and work should make policymakers consider their repeal instead of boosting them.
2 min read
If reelected, President Trump would drastically escalate the trade war he started during his first term. But what often goes unnoticed is President Biden’s role in continuing Trump’s first trade war. In fact, more tax revenue from the trade war tariffs has been collected under Biden than under Trump.
5 min read
One relatively easy but meaningful step policymakers can take to make future tax seasons less burdensome is to modernize their state’s nonresident income tax filing, withholding, and reciprocity laws.
7 min read
The global landscape of international corporate taxation is undergoing significant transformations as jurisdictions grapple with the difficulty of defining and apportioning corporate income for the purposes of tax.
22 min read
Over the next 10 years, the IRA’s energy tax credits are projected to cost north of $1 trillion, adding to the federal government’s budgetary challenges and burgeoning debt.
6 min read
When the tax code is stable and predictable, individuals, families, and businesses can set goals for the future and make plans to achieve them.
EU Member States should seek to minimize the rate and broaden the base of electricity duties, consolidating their rates to the required minimum rate.
3 min read
Despite taxes playing a significant role in personal finances and being levied on a sizable portion of the U.S. population, most Americans are not just unhappy with the current tax code but also do not understand it.
4 min read
With proposals to adopt the nation’s highest corporate income tax, second-highest individual income tax, and most aggressive treatment of foreign earnings, as well as to implement an unusually high tax on property transfers, Vermont lawmakers have no shortage of options for raising taxes dramatically.
7 min read
Portugal’s personal income tax system levies high tax rates on an unusually narrow set of high earners, striking a poor balance between earnings incentives and revenue contributions.
4 min read
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
Short FormThe federal income tax drives the tax code’s progressivity. In 2021, taxpayers with higher incomes paid much higher average income tax rates than taxpayers with lower incomes.
4 min read
With state tax revenues receding from all-time highs, there’s been a great deal of handwringing about whether states can afford the tax cuts adopted over the past few years. Given that 27 states reduced the rate of a major tax between 2021 and 2023, is there reason for concern?
4 min read
Given that U.S. debt is roughly the size of our annual economic output, policymakers will face many tough fiscal choices in the coming years. The good news is there are policies that both support a larger economy and avoid adding to the debt.
6 min read
By violating the principles of simplicity, neutrality, and stability, and failing to raise significant revenue, worldwide combined reporting at the state level is doomed to fail.
6 min read
Different taxes have different economic effects, so policymakers should always consider how tax revenue is raised and not just how much is raised.
3 min read
In the context of the 2024 election year, what does President Biden’s 2025 budget proposal signify regarding his strategies and priorities as he seeks reelection? And how could these proposals shape the overall landscape of this election cycle?