Academic studies show that higher corporate tax rates depress worker wages and lead to fewer jobs. An Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD) study has found that the corporate tax is the least efficient and most harmful way for governments to raise revenue.
Taxes are an important part of the mix, and modernizing a state’s tax structure helps position it for growth. States that rank better on the Index have better-structured tax codes, and states with better-structured tax codes get Wins Above Replacement.
5 min read
22 of the 27 EU Member States have implemented both the income inclusion rule and the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in 2025.
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Sean Bray interviewed Dr. Sérgio Vasques, Professor of Tax Law at the Catholic University of Lisbon and former Portuguese Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, about the future of the EU tax mix.
7 min read
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
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Sean Bray interviewed Professor of Tax Law at the Lisbon School of Law of the Catholic University of Portugal, Dr. Miguel Correia, about the future of the EU tax mix.
12 min read
Massachusetts lawmakers should look for opportunities to reform the tax code, revamp the state’s competitiveness, and stem the tide of outmigration. This bill, by contrast, would double down on the economically uncompetitive features of the Commonwealth’s existing tax code. Aggressively expanding NCTI inclusion is not productive or competitive.
5 min read
Tax-preferred private retirement accounts often have complex rules and limitations. Universal savings accounts could be a simpler alternative—or addition—to many countries’ current system of private retirement savings accounts.
23 min read
Sean Bray interviews Dr. Jean-Philippe van West, Professor of International and European tax law at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, about the future of the EU tax mix.
10 min read
Instead of getting stuck in a reactionary posture, European countries should simply aim for competitiveness, and the EU can support that work with stronger, more stable trade relationships.
Rather than returning to a world of retaliatory tax measures and transatlantic disputes, the OECD should continue to decrease the compliance costs of Pillar Two by simplifying the rules to reduce any possible risk that the US has a compliance cost advantage and working with G7 countries on a side-by-side solution.
6 min read
Kansas policymakers’ proposal to expand the sales tax base is well-intentioned but could be designed more prudently.
As energy prices have declined, European countries have switched the focus of their windfall profits taxes—a one-time tax levied on a company or industry when economic conditions result in large, unexpected profits—from energy providers to the banking and financial sector.
6 min read
The industry breakdown of the OBBBA corporate tax cuts shows firms in industries involved with tangible production, such as manufacturing, are the biggest winners, as measured by changes in tax liability.
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Sean Bray interviews Dr. Irma Mosquera Valderrama, Full Professor of Tax Governance at Leiden Law School (Leiden University) and EU Jean Monnet Chair Holder on EU Tax Governance about the EU tax mix.
24 min read
Americans will spend almost 7.1 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2025. This is equal to 3.4 million full-time workers—almost the population of Los Angeles and nearly 38 times the workforce the IRS employed in FY 2024—doing nothing but tax return paperwork for a full year.
9 min read
Trump’s 2025 tariffs will hit nearly three-quarters of US food imports, raising prices on products that are often difficult or impossible to produce domestically. Senator Hawley has proposed a rebate program to return some of the revenue to households—but would it actually help?
The OBBBA moved the US international tax system in the right direction on several fronts. However, some of the changes, while encouraging certain domestic activity and exports, may harm physical activity abroad that supports US competitiveness and domestic activity.
8 min read
For Congress, work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is done. But in state capitols, the work has not yet begun. Many of the tax changes in the federal reconciliation act flow through to state tax codes—automatically in some states, and subject to an update in states’ Internal Revenue Code conformity date in others.
39 min read
Although sometimes overlooked in discussions about corporate taxation, capital allowances play an important role in a country’s corporate tax base and can impact investment decisions—with far-reaching economic consequences.
6 min read
Even when international relations are frayed, there is value in finding ways to combat corporate profit shifting while also fostering a healthy commercial atmosphere and positive trade relations.
7 min read