Taxes: The Price We Pay for Government
Have you ever wondered where the money comes from to build roads, maintain a national defense, or pay for programs like Social Security? Taxes.
Have you ever wondered where the money comes from to build roads, maintain a national defense, or pay for programs like Social Security? Taxes.
Discover the three basic tax types—taxes on what you earn, taxes on what you buy, and taxes on what you own. Learn about 12 specific taxes, four within each main category. Develop a basic understanding of how these taxes fit together, how they impact government revenues and the economy, and where you may encounter them in your daily life.
Compared to other tax revenue sources, consumption tax revenue as a share of GDP tends to be relatively stable over time, even during economic downturns.
2 min readThe Great Recession provides some insight into how tax revenues declined during a deep recession. Across OECD countries, revenues fell by 11 percent from 2008 to 2009 with corporate income taxes seeing the steepest decline at 28 percent. Revenues from individual income taxes fell by 16 percent.
4 min readOur updated 2020 edition of Facts & 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.
1 min readOur new report outlines various policy recommendations for Kansas to consider in order to begin a robust and bipartisan conversation about modernizing the state’s tax code to suit a 21st century economy.
15 min readElection Day 2019 will feature notable tax-related ballot measures in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Once the polls close tonight, beginning with Pennsylvania and Texas at 8 PM EST, we will begin tracking the results as they come in.
4 min readConnecticut, California, New York, and New Jersey rank lowest in our 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index, which compares states on more than 120 tax policy variables to show how well they structure their tax systems and to provide a road map for improvement.
20 min read