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New Report Shows the Burdens of Payroll and Income Taxes
The tax burden for most Americans in 2019 –67.8 percent—will come primarily from payroll taxes, not income taxes. While the income tax is progressive, with average rates rising with income, the payroll tax is regressive, with the highest average rate falling on Americans with the lowest incomes.
4 min readReforming Rental Car Excise Taxes
The growing number of options that travelers have for rental cars, including peer-to-peer car-sharing arrangements, is an opportunity for policymakers to revisit the policy rationale for these discriminatory taxes.
26 min read
Average Income Tends to Rise with Age
Average income tends to rise dramatically as someone ages and gains education and experience. Viewing just one year of income tax data without digging any deeper misses some crucial context.
2 min read
Complexity of the VAT in Europe
2 min read

Increasing Individual Income Tax Rates Would Impact a Majority of US Businesses
Since most U.S. businesses are pass-through businesses, such as partnerships, S corporations, LLCs, and sole proprietorships, changes to the individual income tax, especially to top marginal rates, can affect a business’s incentives to invest, hire, and produce.
4 min read
Facts and Figures 2019: How Does Your State Compare?
Our updated 2019 edition of 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.
1 min read
A Growing Percentage of Americans Have Zero Income Tax Liability
From 1986 to 2016, the top 1 percent’s share of income taxes rose from 25.8 percent to 37.3 percent, while the bottom 90 percent’s share fell from 45.3 percent to 30.5 percent.
4 min read
Complexity of Labor Taxes in Europe
3 min read

How Do Transfers and Progressive Taxes Affect the Distribution of Income?
Federal tax rates vary by income group and tax source. The federal tax system redistributes income from high- and low-income taxpayers.
3 min read
Who Benefits from Itemized Deductions?
While some tax preferences like the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit benefit lower- and middle-income households, others, like itemized deductions, benefit high-income households.
4 min read


The Top 1 Percent’s Tax Rates Over Time
In the 1950s, when the top marginal income tax rate reached 92 percent, the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid an effective rate of only 16.9 percent. As top marginal rates have fallen, the tax burden on the rich has risen.
5 min read
The Composition of Federal Revenue Has Changed Over Time
The federal income tax and federal payroll tax make up a growing share of federal revenue. Individual income taxes have become a central pillar of the federal revenue system, now comprising nearly half of all revenue.
2 min read
VAT Rates in Europe, 2019
4 min read
