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Individual Tax Compliance and Complexity

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How do tax brackets work educational video on tax brackets explained

How Do Tax Brackets Work?

Understanding how tax brackets work can inform decisions about performing extra work through a second job or overtime, or pursuing new streams of income.

Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe 2023 Income Tax Rates or Individual Income Tax Rates

Top Personal Income Tax Rates in Europe, 2023

Denmark (55.9 percent), France (55.4 percent), and Austria (55 percent) have the highest top statutory personal income tax rates among European OECD countries.

2 min read
2023 local income taxes by state and municipality 2023 local income tax rates and local taxes or local income tax data by county

Local Income Taxes: A Primer

Most states avoid municipal income taxes for good reason. These taxes are more volatile and less economically competitive than other forms of taxation available to local governments, and add substantial complexity for governments and taxpayers alike.

23 min read
2023 local income taxes by state and municipality 2023 local income tax rates and local taxes or local income tax data by county

A Look at Local Income Taxes

Levied in thousands of cities, counties, school districts, and other localities, local income taxes are often used to either lower other taxes (like property taxes) or raise more revenue for local services. While they may make sense on paper, local income taxes come with more challenges than other local revenue sources.

Deteriorating federal budget deficits highlight need to stabilize federal debt. See federal deficit taxes contextualized amid push to balance the budget

Deteriorating Federal Budget to Run $1.4 Trillion Deficit in 2023, CBO Projects

Immediately balancing the $20 trillion budget shortfall would take drastic, unwanted policy changes. Instead, lawmakers should target a more achievable goal, such as stabilizing debt and deficits with an eye toward comprehensive tax reform that can produce sufficient revenue with minimal economic harm.

4 min read
Biden state of the union address 2023 tax proposals stock buybacks tax billionaire minimum tax expanded child tax credit

State of the Union Reaction 2023

President Biden shared his policy aspirations during the State of the Union address, outlining three tax proposals in his remarks: quadrupling the brand-new excise tax on stock buybacks, instituting a “billionaire minimum tax,” and extending the now-lapsed expanded Child Tax Credit. We discuss the prospects of major tax changes becoming law in a divided government and what these proposals signal about how President Biden thinks about tax policy as he enters the latter half of his first term.

Will the Federal Government Tax Your State Tax Rebates Inflation Relief Checks

Will the Federal Government Tax Your State Tax Rebate?

If your state issued tax rebates last year, you might have to pay federal income tax on the rebate you received. Maybe. Who knows? Unfortunately, not the IRS—at least not yet.

5 min read
GOP FairTax proposal or Fair Tax Act includes national sales tax and abolishing IRS

Fair Tax FAQ

The FairTax is a proposal to replace all major sources of the federal government’s revenue—the individual income tax, corporate income tax, estate and gift taxes, and payroll tax—with a national sales tax and rebate, abolishing the IRS in the process.

7 min read
Adobe Stock, Robert Hainer

Georgia Should Reinforce Its Tax Reform Intentions

By shifting to a flat income tax, Georgia has already made an important commitment to tax competitiveness. Although the state’s top rate threshold is already very low, a true single-rate income tax will help protect taxpayers from inflation-related tax increases and provide a buffer against rising tax rates in the future. To combine responsible rate reductions with these benefits, Georgia should create tax triggers that empower the state to keep pace with its competition.

3 min read
Tax filing Tax Season Stone's Throwe Photo

Frustration and Delays as the 2023 Tax Filing Season Begins

A combination of long-standing IRS operational deficiencies, the agency’s temporary closure due to the pandemic, and the now-expired pandemic relief produced a perfect recipe for a paper backlog.

4 min read
2023 State Tax Changes as of January 1, 2023, Comprehensive guide to 2020 tax changes and 2020 state tax changes

State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1, 2023

Most of the 2023 state tax changes represent net tax reductions, the result of an unprecedented wave of rate reductions and other tax cuts in the past two years as states respond to burgeoning revenues, greater tax competition in an era of enhanced mobility, and the impact of high inflation on residents.

20 min read
The Efficiency of State and Local Tax Administration of Local Taxes including Local Sales Taxes and Local Tourism Taxes

The Efficiency of State Administration of Local Taxes

The logic that has prevailed for local sales taxes should apply equally to other taxes that localities impose on multijurisdictional businesses, including local tourism taxes. The evidence is clear that central administration of local taxes reduces compliance costs without sacrificing local revenue.

15 min read