Survey Says Tax Confusion
All Americans are affected by the tax code—but do they understand the tax code?
All Americans are affected by the tax code—but do they understand the tax code?
Despite taxes playing a significant role in personal finances and being levied on a sizable portion of the U.S. population, most Americans are not just unhappy with the current tax code but also do not understand it.
4 min readWith proposals to adopt the nation’s highest corporate income tax, second-highest individual income tax, and most aggressive treatment of foreign earnings, as well as to implement an unusually high tax on property transfers, Vermont lawmakers have no shortage of options for raising taxes dramatically.
7 min readPortugal’s personal income tax system levies high tax rates on an unusually narrow set of high earners, striking a poor balance between earnings incentives and revenue contributions.
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 readThe federal income tax drives the tax code’s progressivity. In 2021, taxpayers with higher incomes paid much higher average income tax rates than taxpayers with lower incomes.
4 min readSavings and investment are critical activities, both for individuals’ and families’ financial security and for the health of the national economy as a whole. As such, policymakers should consider how they can help mitigate—rather than add to—tax codes’ biases against saving and investment.
5 min readWith state tax revenues receding from all-time highs, there’s been a great deal of handwringing about whether states can afford the tax cuts adopted over the past few years. Given that 27 states reduced the rate of a major tax between 2021 and 2023, is there reason for concern?
4 min readGiven that U.S. debt is roughly the size of our annual economic output, policymakers will face many tough fiscal choices in the coming years. The good news is there are policies that both support a larger economy and avoid adding to the debt.
6 min readDifferent taxes have different economic effects, so policymakers should always consider how tax revenue is raised and not just how much is raised.
3 min readIn the context of the 2024 election year, what does President Biden’s 2025 budget proposal signify regarding his strategies and priorities as he seeks reelection? And how could these proposals shape the overall landscape of this election cycle?
Designing tax policy in a way that sustainably finances government activities while minimizing distortions is important for supporting a productive economy.
3 min readThe 2021 tax year was the fourth since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made many significant, but temporary, changes to the individual income tax code to lower tax rates, widen brackets, increase the standard deduction and child tax credit, and more.
9 min readDo taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min readUnless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026.
3 min readIn his FY 2025 budget, Illinois Gov. Pritzker outlined a number of proposed tax changes, including to individual and corporate income taxes, state sales taxes, and sports betting excise taxes.
7 min readVermont lawmakers are considering the adoption of two new taxes on high earners, which proponents have branded “wealth taxes.”
4 min readDon’t be fooled by tax myths and misconceptions this tax filing season.
3 min readExpanding Virginia’s sales tax base to include B2B digital transactions could lead to tax pyramiding, hide the true cost of government, and make the sales tax system much less neutral and transparent.
5 min read