A new paper shows raising top income tax rates on the current tax base may not yield as much revenue as previously estimated, due to opportunities to shift income to different tax bases within the tax code.
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This November, states across the country are asking voters to consider changes to their state constitutions to address the burden of rising property taxes.
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If we want to ensure that AI raises economic growth, we shouldn’t be pursuing tax policies that are stuck in the past and represent some of the worst ideas from the early internet age.
While the government will never close the tax gap or fully eliminate tax fraud, lawmakers and the IRS can institute several reforms to reduce the gap, including simplifying the tax code, increasing third-party information reporting, and coordinating anti-fraud efforts.
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With Social Security insolvency rapidly approaching and policymakers exploring changes to benefits and taxation, Congress could look to base-broadening reforms like the ECT as a guide for how to think about taxing compensation and broadening the tax base.
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Cigarette smuggling is costly for states. We estimate that the forgone revenue from smuggled cigarettes totaled more than $4.6 billion in 2024. California lost nearly $1.4 billion in cigarette excise tax collections, and New York missed out on more than $1.2 billion.
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Under Spain’s current Social Democratic government, the country has fallen from 27th to 35th (out of 38 OECD countries) in the International Tax Competitiveness Index.
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Want to know how much you’ll owe during tax filing season? Then you need to know your taxable income.
No one enjoys paying taxes, but the property tax serves an important purpose, and Wyoming has already implemented significant property tax relief. Proposition 1 would undercut local finances to a degree that would likely force reliance on worse taxes (local or state) and prompt spending cuts that reduce homeowners’ property values.
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Nearly half of all hospitals are exempt from paying US corporate income taxes. As healthcare spending rises, lawmakers have questioned whether hospitals are providing as much in community benefits as they derive from tax exemptions.
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Hall’s research helped economists understand how taxes distort investment decisions, while his work with Rabushka shows how to minimize those distortions. Although the US remains far from a pure consumption tax, Hall’s work informs efforts to reduce the tax burden on investment, improve neutrality, and promote long-run economic growth.
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Florida has long maintained one of the nation’s most competitive state tax codes, but a fundamental change proposed by Amendment 3 could undermine that competitiveness.
30 min read
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
72 min read
Wealth taxes have been a failure everywhere they’ve been tried, which may be why advocates for the California amendment are saying this is a new frontier. But the countries that have tried this gamble know the frontier well, and they’ve left it in the dust.
Washington’s new income tax on high earners doesn’t take effect until 2028, but it is already generating a lot of activity. A measure on the ballot this November, Initiative 645, would reverse the legislature’s decision, preventing the new tax from taking effect.
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The 2026 Regional Tax Competitiveness Index for Spain highlights a growing divergence between regions that have embraced tax reform and those whose tax systems have remained largely unchanged.
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The federal government’s debt burden and interest on the debt are near record levels and headed higher, raising legitimate concerns about an eventual debt crisis. Given the increasingly dysfunctional budget process, the most viable option on the table to stave off such a crisis is a statutory bipartisan fiscal commission with buy-in from leaders of both parties.
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Imposing sales taxes on rental car companies’ fleet purchases, in addition to the sales and rental car excise taxes levied when those cars are rented, yields double taxation and causes harmful tax pyramiding.
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In addition to the federal estate tax, which has a top marginal rate of 40 percent, 12 states and the District of Columbia impose estate taxes, while five states levy inheritance taxes.
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What happens when voters decide tax policy directly? This November, roughly 40 tax measures are on the ballot across 17 states. Some states want higher taxes on top earners, others want to write low rates into their constitutions, and Missouri voters will decide whether to start a fund that could one day replace every state tax.