In tax year 2020, taxpayers claimed more than 159 million tax credits on their individual income tax returns worth a total of more than $277 billion. That was an increase of $35.3 billion from tax year 2019, largely due to an influx of pandemic relief administered through the tax code in 2020.
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In this lesson plan, students will understand the basics of taxation and its impact on their daily lives, learn about their state tax system, and be able to compare it to other states in the U.S.
Starting on September 1st, federal student loan payments will resume after a three-and-a-half-year pause on payments and accrued interest following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Given that wealth taxes collect little revenue and have the potential to disincentivize entrepreneurship and investment, perhaps European countries should repeal them rather than implement one across the continent.
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Short FormAs fans around the world anticipate the final adventure of Indiana Jones, let’s embark on our own excursion to unravel the mysteries of taxing treasure.
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The federal tax code remains a major source of frustration and controversy for Americans, and a hindrance to economic growth and opportunity. Other countries, such as Estonia, have proven that sufficient tax revenue can be collected in a less frustrating and more efficient way.
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Reviewing reported income helps to understand the composition of the federal government’s revenue base and how Americans earn their taxable income. The individual income tax, the federal government’s largest source of revenue, is largely a tax on labor.
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At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
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Lawmakers should focus on simplifying the federal tax code, creating stability, and broadly improving economic incentives. There are incremental steps that can be made on the path to fundamental tax reform.
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As fiscal year 2023 draws to a close, North Carolina’s House and Senate have each passed their own versions of the biennial budget for fiscal years 2024-25. While legislative leaders have generally agreed to overall spending levels, negotiations remain ongoing to resolve different approaches to tax policy.
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The price tag of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green energy tax credits is much higher than originally thought. Among other things, the updated analysis indicates the Inflation Reduction Act does not reduce deficits after all.
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In the closing days of the 2023 legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers repealed the state’s corporate franchise tax and eliminated the marriage penalty in its individual income tax. Both tax changes represent a positive step forward for the state.
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Lawmakers should avoid delivering social and economic benefits through the tax code whenever possible and work to simplify or repeal the tax expenditures already in the tax code.
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Any serious proposal to tackle the emerging debt and deficit crisis must also address our largest mandatory spending programs: Social Security and Medicare. Together, these two programs will be responsible for nearly 80 percent of the deficit’s rise between 2023 and 2032, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections.
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To make the taxation of labor more efficient, policymakers should understand the inputs into the tax wedge, and taxpayers should understand how their tax burden funds government services.
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When we discuss tax policy, the conversation inevitably turns to who pays, who should pay, and how much they should pay. Unfortunately, the tax burdens debate is often missing a key point: how income transfer programs—like Social Security or Medicaid—affect households’ tax burdens.
Although the U.S. has a progressive tax system and a relatively low tax burden compared to the OECD average, average-wage workers still pay more than 30 percent of their wages in taxes.
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A better-designed tax system should be a goal of any fiscal consolidation package. That said, our simulations suggest that even substantially higher tax increases are insufficient to curtail long-run debt-to-GDP growth.
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Rather than continue down the path of growing debt, lawmakers should craft a comprehensive solution. International experience cautions against tax-based fiscal consolidations, but modest tax increases may be part of a successful debt reduction package.
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