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High-Income Taxpayers, Progressivity, and Inequality

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Social Security Reform Options

Social Security: Lessons for Reform

Social Security is by far the largest federal government spending program. The latest trustees report shows the program is on a fiscally unsustainable path that will exacerbate the US debt crisis if its imbalances are not addressed in the near term.

33 min read
Kamala Harris Tax Plan 2024 Details Analysis

Kamala Harris Tax Plan Ideas: Details and Analysis

On tax policy, Harris carries forward much of President Biden’s FY 2025 budget, including higher taxes aimed at businesses and high earners. She would also further expand the child tax credit (CTC) and various other tax credits and incentives while exempting tips from income tax.  

16 min read
Kamala Harris unrealized capital gains tax proposal billionaire minimum tax

Analysis of Harris’s Billionaire Minimum Tax on Unrealized Capital Gains

In her campaign for president, VP Kamala Harris has embraced all the tax increases President Biden proposed in the White House FY 2025 budget—including a new idea that would require taxpayers with net wealth above $100 million to pay a minimum tax on their unrealized capital gains from assets such as stocks, bonds, or privately held companies.

5 min read
Taxes and interstate migration data from IRS and Census state migration trends show Americans moving to low-tax states 2024 interstate migration by state

Taxes and Interstate Migration: 2024 Update

The latest IRS and Census data show that people and businesses favor states with low and structurally sound tax systems, which can impact the state’s economic growth and governmental coffers.

8 min read
American retirement savings accounts including 401k and IRA contribution and withdrawals

American Retirement and Tax-Preferred Savings Accounts, Tax Year 2018

To encourage greater saving, the US federal income tax provides tax-neutral treatment to some types of saving through a variety of accounts. The type of tax treatment, contribution limits, withdrawal rules, and use cases for contributions all vary by account, leading to a complicated system for households to navigate.

11 min read
Gov Tim Walz tax policies

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
Where Does Kamala Harris Stand on Taxes?

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
Placing Biden Tax Proposals and Trump Tax Proposals in Historical Context Largest Tax Increase and Largest Tax Hike in History and Largest Tax Decrease and Largest Tax Cut in History

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
The Impact of High Inflation on Tax Revenues across Europe

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
Sources of personal income tax return data as of 2024 Tax Foundation

Sources of Personal Income, Tax Year 2021

Reviewing reported income helps to understand the composition of the federal government’s revenue base and how Americans earn their taxable income. The individual income tax, the federal government’s largest source of revenue, is largely a tax on labor.

9 min read

A Big-Picture Look at Taxing the Wealthy

Taxing wealth has become a hot-button issue in today’s political discourse, promising to reshape economic equality. But what are the real-world implications of such policies?

The High Cost of Wealth Taxes

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