Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2023 Update
The latest IRS data shows that the U.S. federal individual income tax continued to be progressive, borne primarily by the highest income earners.
43 min readThe latest IRS data shows that the U.S. federal individual income tax continued to be progressive, borne primarily by the highest income earners.
43 min readWhen we discuss tax policy, the conversation inevitably turns to who pays, who should pay, and how much they should pay. Unfortunately, the tax burdens debate is often missing a key point: how income transfer programs—like Social Security or Medicaid—affect households’ tax burdens.
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min readOur experts are providing the latest details and analysis of proposed federal tax policy changes.
11 min readOur preliminary analysis finds the tax provisions increase long-run GDP by 0.8 percent and reduce federal tax revenue by $4.0 trillion from 2025 through 2034 on a conventional basis before added interest costs.
8 min readRepublicans have advanced legislation to extend many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) alongside dozens of new provisions. Any comprehensive tax legislation is going to have its wrinkles, and the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” is no different.
8 min readFor owners of pass-through businesses, the reconciliation package (1) raises the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, (2) denies the benefit of pass-through entity-level taxes that had previously worked around the SALT cap for such pass-through businesses, and (3) increases the Section 199A deduction for qualifying pass-through entities.
4 min readLetting the SALT cap slip further upwards would undercut the TCJA’s long-term legacy, worsening the fiscal outlook of the tax package and providing an unneeded benefit to higher earners.
4 min readAccording to the latest economic data from the US Census Bureau, the average per capita state and local tax burden is $7,109. However, collections vary widely by state, reflecting differences in tax rates and bases, natural resource endowments, the scale and scope of taxable economic activity in each state, and residents’ political preferences.
5 min readThe Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) only succeeds in demonstrating that America has more millionaires than it used to, not that high-tax states are doing well in attracting or retaining them.
7 min readRaising the top income tax rate would raise several hundred billion dollars but would offset most of the pro-growth effects of making the TCJA’s individual tax provisions permanent by reducing incentives to work and invest.
5 min readBy implementing a more sophisticated and nuanced trigger system for its tax reduction goals, North Carolina can sustain its trajectory toward lower tax rates, reinforce its reputation as a business-friendly state, and ensure long-term fiscal stability in an ever-changing economic landscape.
4 min readWithout aligning fiscal discipline with pro-growth tax policies, Germany and the EU risk high deficits, mounting debt, and sustained inflation.
5 min readIf adopted, these reforms would make Kansas’ tax code substantially more competitive while returning revenue growth to taxpayers in a fiscally responsible manner.
5 min readLawmakers are right to enact a single-rate individual income tax. However, lawmakers should consider the full effects of the reform, ensuring that relief is not financed by shifting the tax burden to lower-income individuals and families.
4 min readSurtaxes such as Germany’s solidarity surtax run counter to the principles of simplicity and transparency of the tax system because they impose an additional layer of tax on taxpayers and create a more complex tax structure that often obscures the actual tax burden.
4 min readFacts & 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.
2 min readWhile evaluating new estate tax bills this legislative session, Oregon legislators should consider the state’s competitive tax landscape and interstate migration patterns.
4 min readWealth taxes not only collect little revenue and create legal uncertainty, but an OECD report argues that they can also disincentivize entrepreneurship, harming innovation and long-term growth.
5 min readThe French Revolution provides insight into the relationship between a government and its citizens and serves as a reminder that tax policy can have impacts (big and small) that last for centuries.
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
12 min readDenmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) levy the highest top personal income tax rates in Europe.
4 min readFacing a projected $3 billion budget deficit in fiscal year 2026, with forecasts of a growing gap over the next five years, Governor Wes Moore (D) has included about $1 billion in proposed tax increases in his budget proposal.
7 min read