Removing tax policy barriers can help businesses and individuals invest, work, create jobs, and lift the economy during a post-pandemic recovery without requiring lawmakers to create new spending programs. One of the most cost-efficient options available to lawmakers is to make permanent and expand the full expensing of capital investment.
While tax rates matter to businesses, so too does the measure of income to which those tax rates apply. Depreciation understates investment costs, overstates business profits, and reduces the after-tax return on the investment—resulting in less capital formation, productivity growth, and economic output. In other words, depreciation requires businesses to pay tax on income that doesn’t exist.
Removing the tax code’s bias against long-term investment by implementing a neutral cost recovery system (NCRS) for structures and full expensing for other assets is estimated to increase economic growth and job creation. Using the Tax Foundation General Equilibrium Model, we estimate that permanent full expensing and neutral cost recovery for structures will add more than 1 million full-time equivalent jobs to the long-run economy and boost the long-run capital stock by 13 percent, or $4.8 trillion.
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Lawmakers should use the year ahead to thoroughly review and debate lasting, fundamental tax reform and prioritize policies that best boost work and investment incentives in a fiscally responsible manner.
4 min read
Policymakers actively marginalized the manufacturing sector by saddling them with cost recovery rules that prevent them from deducting the full cost of investment in physical plant and equipment. Going forward, policymakers should avoid haphazard fixes, targeted measures, and protectionism.
50 min read
Though providing permanent R&D expensing alone would not be a China-competition magic bullet, it is a no-brainer place to start. In this technological race, we should first make sure we have not tied our own shoes together.
4 min read
We estimate that moving to permanent full expensing and neutral cost recovery for structures would add more than 1 million full-time equivalent jobs to the long-run economy and boost the long-run capital stock by $4.8 trillion.
4 min read
Cost recovery is the way the tax code permits firms to recover (or deduct) the cost of making investments. Cost recovery plays an important role in defining a business’ taxable income and can impact investment decisions.
Studies have shown that accelerated depreciation helps increase wage growth. A recent report found that states that implemented accelerated depreciation in their tax codes led to a 2.5 percent increase in compensation per employee in manufacturing, relative to states that did not.
3 min read
How capital assets are accounted for in the tax code dramatically affects what is defined as taxable income and, thereby, directly influences the cost of capital. The higher the cost, the less capital is formed, and the slower the economy will grow.
2 min read
While tax rates matter to businesses, so too does the measure of income to which those tax rates apply. The corporate income tax is a tax on profits, normally defined as revenue minus costs. However, under the current tax code, businesses are unable to deduct the full cost of certain expenses—their capital investments—meaning the tax code is not neutral and actually increases the cost of investment.
3 min read
Permanent full expensing for all types of investment is an effective policy change lawmakers can use to encourage additional investment and economic growth.
9 min read
This episode of The Deduction is part one in our ongoing coverage of the UK’s tax battles. Jesse chats with Tom Clougherty, research director and head of tax at the Centre for Policy Studies in London about what went down in the UK this fall: from the leadership elections to the countless U-turns the new prime minister has made to try and reform the country’s tax code.
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.
41 min read
For many years, the UK has adopted a strikingly ungenerous approach to capital cost recovery – the ability of firms to write off investment against tax. This has coincided with consistently low levels of business investment. The super-deduction, which has temporarily made the UK tax system much more supportive of capital investment in plant and machinery is set to expire.
34 min read
Ernest S. Christian, Jr., (1937-2022) was one of the tax policy community’s most distinguished and influential experts, showing us how effective sound tax policy can be. He passed away on September 13th, leaving behind a legacy of tax reform.
4 min read
The Inflation Reduction Act includes a book minimum tax, which is raising the eyebrows of accountants everywhere. Scott Dyreng, a professor of accounting at Duke University, and Daniel Bunn join Jesse to discuss how these minimum taxes work and how companies aim to comply with all these new complex rules and tax increases.
The phaseout of 100 percent bonus depreciation, scheduled to take place after the end of 2022, will increase the after-tax cost of investment in the U.S. Permanently extending it would increase long-run economic output by 0.4 percent and increase employment by 73,000 FTE jobs.
20 min read
The Senate has begun debate on the so-called Chips bill, which would provide $52 billion in grants and $24 billion in tax credits to supposedly strengthen the production of semiconductors in the U.S.
3 min read
Policymakers should continue to focus on longer term impacts rather than emphasizing the short-term stimulus effects of tax cuts.
3 min read
Policymakers from both parties in Harrisburg have proposed reducing Pennsylvania’s 9.99 percent corporate net income tax (CNIT) rate but could not agree on an approach—until now. With the enactment of HB 1342 lawmakers finally succeeded in cutting what had been the second highest state corporate tax rate in the nation.
7 min read
Among the 46 states that held legislative sessions this year, structural state tax reform and temporary tax relief measures were recurring themes.
13 min read
Gov. Stitt signed into law a pro-growth bill that will set the state apart from its peers. Other states should look to follow Oklahoma’s example and make full expensing permanent to maintain their competitiveness in an increasingly mobile economy.
3 min read
Our new analysis reviews the basic structure of carbon taxes, how they compare to the existing set of climate policies, and how they could fit into various pro-growth tax reform packages.
26 min read
The United States needs to grow its way out of inflation and set the economy up for continued growth—the tax code provides tools for policymakers to do just that.
3 min read
Federal policymakers are debating a legislative package focused on boosting U.S. competitiveness vis-a-vis China; however, it currently contains little to no improvements to the U.S. tax code.
34 min read
The ongoing economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and current inflationary pressures have highlighted the importance of investment.
33 min read
The U.S. tax system is biased against capital investments. Ending these tax penalties would boost economic output, productivity, and employment.
4 min read
Policymakers actively marginalized the manufacturing sector by saddling them with cost recovery rules that prevent them from deducting the full cost of investment in physical plant and equipment. Going forward, policymakers should avoid haphazard fixes, targeted measures, and protectionism.
50 min read
By reducing the tax code’s current barriers to investment and saving and simplifying its complex rules, lawmakers would greatly enhance the ability of Americans to pursue new ideas, create more opportunities, and build financial security for themselves and their families.
40 min read