





OECD countries have on average become more reliant on consumption taxes and less reliant on individual income taxes. These policy changes matter, considering that consumption-based taxes raise revenue with less economic damage and distortionary effects than taxes on income.


Our updated 2020 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.


The prospect of a ban on flavored tobacco and nicotine products highlights the complications of contradictory tax and regulatory policy, the instability of excise taxes that go beyond pricing in the cost of externalities, and the public risks of driving consumers into the black market through excessive taxation or regulation.




Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have proposed changes to federal payroll tax rates and the Social Security payroll tax wage base to raise revenue and maintain solvency for major federal entitlement programs.










Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for 37 percent of state tax collections in fiscal year (FY) 2017. Several states had notable individual income tax changes in 2020: Arizona, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.










New modeling finds that the wealth taxes proposed by Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders would raise significantly less revenue than promised, face serious administrative and compliance challenges, and would increase foreign ownership of U.S. capital.


Policymakers should exercise caution in deciding whether to enact an FTT given the uncertainty regarding the FTT’s ability to raise revenue and the significant damage it could cause to the U.S. financial system




When considering options to eliminate the deferral advantage of capital gains taxation, a lookback charge provides a reasonable solution for taxing hard-to-value assets. However, policymakers need to understand the limitations of a lookback charge compared to both mark-to-market taxation and the current system.

