How Do Governments Raise Revenue?
The government provides various services at the federal, state, and local levels. How are they paid for? Taxes.
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Gov. Tim Walz Raised Taxes as Most Governors Cut Them
Gov. Walz’s tax policy record is notable because of how much it contrasts with broader national trends. In recent years, most governors have championed tax cuts. Walz, rare among his peers, chose tax increases.
5 min read
Tax Complexity Now Costs the US Economy Over $546 Billion Annually
Americans will spend more than 7.9 billion hours complying with IRS tax filing and reporting requirements in 2024. This is equal to 3.8 million full-time workers doing nothing but tax return paperwork—roughly equal to the population of Los Angeles.
7 min read
Pillar Two: Electric Boogaloo
The global tax deal and Pillar Two are shaking up the tax landscape worldwide, introducing a web of complexity and confusion.
Capital Allowances in Europe, 2024
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.
4 min read
Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Taxes?
While both President Biden and Vice President Harris aim their proposed tax hikes on businesses and high earners, key differences between their tax ideas in the past reveal where Harris may take her tax policy platform in the 2024 campaign.
6 min read
A Lower Corporate Tax Rate Can Be Part of Broader Tax Reform
A 15 percent corporate rate would be pro-growth, but it would not address the structural issues with today’s corporate tax base.
4 min read
Placing Biden and Trump Tax Proposals in Historical Context
From President Biden calling the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act the “largest tax cut in American history,” to former President Trump claiming that Biden “wants to raise your taxes by four times,” the campaign rhetoric on taxes may be sparking some confusion.
5 min read
Patent Box Regimes in Europe, 2024
The aim of patent boxes is generally to encourage and attract local research and development (R&D) and to incentivize businesses to locate IP in the country. However, patent boxes can introduce another level of complexity to a tax system, and some recent research questions whether patent boxes are actually effective in driving innovation.
3 min read
Puerto Rican Competitiveness and Pillar Two
Puerto Rico, a US territory with a limited ability to set its own tax policies, will be the first part of the US to be substantially affected by Pillar Two, the global tax agreement that seeks to establish a 15 percent minimum tax rate on corporate income.
17 min read
White House Right on Importance of Business Investment, Wrong on Relevant Policy
The Treasury Department recently touted strong business investment in the years following the pandemic-driven recession and pointed to the Biden administration’s industrial policies in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act as key drivers.
7 min read
Evaluating Proposed Pennsylvania Income Tax Reforms
The proposal is a good example of what can be done to reduce tax burdens on residents if spending is constrained. There are real, tangible benefits associated with enacting this pro-growth reform that should not be discounted.
5 min read
Arkansas Enacts Fourth Tax Cut in Less than Two Years
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) recently called a brief special legislative session to enact the fourth round of reductions to the Natural State’s individual and corporate income taxes. Legislators also passed a modest property tax reform proposal.
4 min read
The Impact of High Inflation on Tax Revenues across Europe
The European Union’s experience with high inflation highlights the critical need for adaptive fiscal policies. Best practices drawn from the academic literature recommend implementing automatic adjustment mechanisms with a certain periodicity and based on price increases.
31 min read
The High Cost of Wealth Taxes
Many developed countries have repealed their wealth taxes in recent years for a variety of reasons. They raise little revenue, create high administrative costs, and induce an outflow of wealthy individuals and their money. Many policymakers have also recognized that high taxes on capital and wealth damage economic growth.
30 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2024
Summer has arrived and states are beginning to implement policy changes that were enacted during the legislative session (or are being phased in over time).
13 min read
Portland’s Weirdly High Taxes
Portland residents face some of the country’s highest taxes on just about every class of income. In an era of dramatically increased mobility for individuals and businesses alike, that’s not a recipe for success.
11 min read
Details and Analysis of President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal
President Biden is proposing extraordinarily large tax hikes on businesses and the top 1 percent of earners that would put the US in a distinctly uncompetitive international position and threaten the health of the US economy.
19 min read
How the TCJA Affected Legal Business Forms
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly lowered the effective tax rates on business income, but the impact was not the same for C corporations and pass-through businesses.
6 min read
Trump Floats Replacing Income Tax with Tariffs
Former President Trump floated the possibility of entirely replacing the federal income tax with new tariffs. He also raised other ideas like eliminating taxes on tipped income and lowering the corporate tax rate by one percentage point.
8 min read