With many state legislative sessions wrapping up for this year, and a new fiscal year about to begin, it’s a good time to examine some of the 2021 legislative trends—and sports betting taxes are among the more prominent.
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Of all alcoholic beverages subject to taxation, stiff drinks—and all distilled spirits—face the stiffest tax rates. Like many excise taxes, the treatment of distilled spirits varies widely across the states.
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Explore President Biden budget proposals, including tax and spending in American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. See Biden tax and spending proposals.
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Taxes are once again at the forefront of the public policy debate as legislators grapple with how to fund new infrastructure spending, among other priorities. Our tax tracker helps you stay up-to-date as new tax plans emerge from the Biden administration and Congress.
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The Biden administration has suggested several tax increases for his infrastructure plan. Public infrastructure can help increase economic growth, but by raising taxes on private investment, the net effect on growth may be negative. However, tax options like retaining expensing for private R&D investment or making 100 percent bonus depreciation for equipment permanent would be complementary to the goals of infrastructure spending.
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While falling short of comprehensively reforming the complex U.S. retirement savings system, House and Senate lawmakers have proposed bipartisan bills to help simplify and expand access to retirement savings accounts to more workers.
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Early signs indicate that flavors bans will not decrease tobacco consumption. It is not in the interest of the District of Columbia to pursue a public health measure that merely sends tax revenue to its neighboring jurisdictions without improving public health.
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It took until the last day of the session, but Louisiana lawmakers succeeded in passing a tax reform package Thursday that would simplify a complicated tax code and make the state more economically competitive.
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As spending priorities are dividing lawmakers trying to negotiate among the various federal infrastructure plans, less time is being spent on the funding of one of the key components—our highways, both current and future taxes and fees. One of the current taxes, a federal excise tax on heavy commercial vehicles and trailers, is an important revenue generator, but its flawed tax design has a negative impact on investment and leads to unstable revenue.
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Rather than relying on damaging corporate tax hikes, policymakers should consider user fees and consumption taxes as options for financing new infrastructure to ensure that a compromise does not end up being a net negative for the U.S. economy.
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As Wisconsin emerges from the pandemic, state policymakers have a rare opportunity to reinvest excess revenues in a structurally sound manner that will make the state more attractive to individuals and businesses, promote a quicker and more robust economic recovery, and put the state on the path to increased in-state investment and growth for many years to come.
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Krispy Kreme may have started the vaccine incentive ball rolling, but many states are putting big money into the effort with vaccine lotteries. Unlike a normal lottery, no one is paying for tickets—but the tax collector still gets paid when someone wins.
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Policymakers concerned about the current tax treatment of unrealized capital gains would be better off exploring policy solutions like consumption taxes rather than tried-and-failed strategies.
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In our new Options for Reforming America’s Tax Code 2.0, there are several options that would simplify the tax code, including eliminating the alternative minimum tax (AMT). While this move would remove a source of complexity, policymakers should also consider reforming the deductions that created a justification for the AMT in the first place.
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Details and analysis of the American Jobs Plan tax proposals. Learn more about the major tax changes in the proposed Biden infrastructure plan.
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A recent study identifies dozens of large companies that paid no income taxes in 2020. While such studies get headlines and may seem shocking, the reality is much more mundane.
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The Biden administration will have to balance the desire to increase social spending through the tax code with the need to collect revenue and have a tax system that is transparent and easy to understand.
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Ohio is one of a growing number of states which experienced revenue increases despite the economic slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic and is now looking to return some of that through tax relief.
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In recent years, several countries have taken measures to reduce carbon emissions, including instituting environmental regulations, emissions trading systems (ETS), and carbon taxes.
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Although most states are on solid financial footing following the coronavirus crisis, pension liabilities are a deep-seated problem that long predates the pandemic.
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