Tracking the Impact of the Trump Tariffs & Trade War
The Trump tariffs have not meaningfully altered the trade balance and amount to an average tax increase per US household of $700 in 2026.
56 min read
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Overview of the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model
The Tax Foundation uses and maintains a General Equilibrium Model, known as our Taxes and Growth (TAG) Model to simulate the effects of government tax and spending policies on the economy and on government revenues and budgets.
9 min read
Capital Cost Recovery across the OECD, 2026 Update
The ongoing economic uncertainty from global geopolitical threats, supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates, and lagging economic growth in many developed countries have highlighted the importance of private business investment.
32 min read
The WHO’s Excise Tax Policy Aims at the Wrong Target
Retail prices make poor targets for excise tax policy, often reflecting factors that have little to do with the underlying reasons for which an excise tax is levied in the first place. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a growing preference for using tax share of retail price (tax incidence) as a primary policy target.
6 min read
Sales Tax Holidays by State, 2026
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
12 min read
Taxing Data Processing Doesn’t Just Tax Big Tech
Policymakers are increasingly considering taxes on data processing and other businesses’ digital services, but these taxes increase costs at many stages of the production process for virtually all businesses, not just tech-oriented businesses.
7 min read
Can New York City Tax Itself Out of Traffic?
NYC’s congestion tolling has reduced congestion, raised money for the MTA, and sped up vehicles in the city. Its success has inspired proposals for congestion tolling in other major US cities, like Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
4 min read
Taxing the Matchmakers: How Digital Services Taxes Cascade Through Online Commerce
A destination-based value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST) is a better instrument for taxing digital consumption by avoiding cascading. Recent experience shows that governments can tax digital consumption with a better structure than DSTs.
15 min read
Poland’s Windfall Profits Tax: Short-Term Fiscal Gains for Long-Term Economic Costs
Poland is currently moving forward with legislation aimed at introducing a windfall profits tax. In doing so, it is following a broader European trend of renewed interest in such taxes in response to rising fuel prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
6 min read
State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026
The five states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates are Louisiana (10.13 percent), Tennessee (9.61 percent), Washington (9.57 percent), Arkansas (9.48 percent), and Alabama (9.46 percent).
8 min read
Illinois’ Alcohol Tax Is Almost As Old as America. It Needs Reform.
As the alcohol industry innovates with newer products like high alcohol content beer or ready-to-drink cocktails, the efficacy of a categorical system continues to break down.
Blog
Short FormWhat 250 Years of Tax History Reveal About the US Tax Code
Just as many parts of American life have transformed over the past 250 years, so too has the federal tax system. While most taxes levied in the 18th century are still levied in some form today, the federal government’s reliance on them, the complexity of the tax code, and Americans’ overall tax burdens have shifted considerably.
5 min read
Carbon Taxes in Europe, 2026
In recent years, several countries have taken measures to reduce carbon emissions, including instituting environmental regulations, emissions trading systems (ETSs), and carbon taxes.
5 min read
Uncapping the Payroll Tax Would Be the Largest Tax Increase in Decades—and Still Wouldn’t Save Social Security
It is good to see senators talking about the Social Security crisis that is rapidly unfolding. But any serious proposal has to grapple with the trade-offs of different reforms and accept that the fix will come from both sides of the ledger: taxes and expenditures.
5 min read
Blog
Short FormAmerica’s 250th: The Evolution of Excise Taxes
British taxation on the American colonies was a major catalyst for the American Revolution, but most of the tax revolts leading up to the war were in response to one tax type: excise taxes.
4 min read
Failing to Renew the USMCA Would Increase Tariff Uncertainty and Harm Americans
With nearly 2 million US jobs tied to trade with Canada and Mexico, stalling renewal — or withdrawing outright — would compound tariff uncertainty at exactly the wrong time.
6 min read
Testimony: Are Digital Services Taxes a Viable Solution for the EU Budget?
Digital services taxes address a real concern—the need to adapt taxation to the digital economy—but they are not the right solution. They raise limited revenue, are often passed on to consumers rather than large digital firms, create economic distortions, increase complexity and compliance costs, negatively impact innovation and competitiveness, and risk international retaliation.
Wine Taxes by State, 2026
Whether a sommelier or a casual enjoyer, wine drinkers may not be aware of just how much they are paying in taxes to uncork their drink of choice.
6 min read
Are Digital Services Taxes a Viable Solution for the EU Budget?
Since digital services taxes generate little revenue, place the cost on European consumers and not on large digital companies as intended, and risk escalating trade disputes, policymakers should rethink their strategy.
14 min read
Floridians Should Think Twice Before Embracing Property Tax Elimination
Voters beware: lower property taxes may sound good, but they come with significant trade-offs.