Taxes

This is part of our educational blog series, “The Short Form,” to simplify tax issues and explore the world through the lens of tax policy. Learn more about taxes with TaxEDU. Politicians often bemoan the trade deficit, but their disdain for this economic statistic is largely misplaced. The trade deficit reflects deeper choices about how we

How the U.S. Can Piece Together a Solution for Pillar Two Skip to content Home • Blog • How the U.S. Can Piece Together a Solution for Pillar Two One of the great skills of competitive sports is salvaging a narrow win—or at least, a draw—from a lost position. The U.S. may need to activate

Should municipal payments to a taxpayer under a public-private financing agreement be considered a tax rebate? This question is now before the Supreme Court of California, and the answer could impact tax policy and municipal financing. The details are technical, but the implications are potentially broad: if the courts endorse an expansive view of tax

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is an ambitious law with worthy goals to reduce deficits, fight inflation, help the IRS, and combat climate change. However, one year after its enactment, there are concerns about its overall fiscal impact, the additional complexity it introduces to the tax system, and the sustainability of its initiatives. Will McBride,

What can Former President Trump’s previous tariff efforts—specifically the safeguards he authorized on imported washing machines in 2018—tell us about his most recent proposal for a 10 percent tariff on all imports? That each job saved would come at a severe cost to consumers and taxpayers. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently released an

Key Findings Pillar Two, an international tax agreement, is intended to incentivize countries to set corporate income tax rates at 15 percent or higher. This agreement threatens the U.S. tax base in two ways: potential lost revenue and limitations on Congress’s ability to set its own tax policy. We analyze the revenue effects of other

In 2017, Congress made several permanent changes to the taxation of foreign earnings. These changes included an end to the unlimited deferral of foreign earnings from U.S. taxable income and the introduction of new anti-avoidance rules alongside a dividends-received deduction for corporations. A major case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court (Moore v. United States)

Bermuda, long celebrated for its pristine beaches and offshore financial services, is embarking on a journey to recalibrate its tax mix. Spurred by the OECD’s Pillar Two initiative, the island will introduce its first-ever corporate income tax in 2025. At first glance, supporters of the OECD’s global tax deal may see this development and declare

This week’s tax map illustrates the variety of vaping and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) tax designs employed by U.S. states. Higher taxes on vaping and ENDS products discourage smokers from switching to vaping products. Since vaping entered U.S. markets roughly two decades ago, it has grown into a well-established product category and a viable

Throwback and throwout rules are obscure provisions of states’ tax codes, but these little-known rules have real economic consequences. Fortunately, states are increasingly repealing these economically harmful rules. Since 2020, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Vermont, and West Virginia have all abolished throwback or throwout rules, with Arkansas adopting a multi-year phaseout and other states—especially Oklahoma—seemingly poised

Despite evidence that place-based tax incentives have been largely ineffective in raising the economic fortunes of people in low-income neighborhoods, an undeterred Congress created Opportunity Zones (OZs) in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A recent analysis by economists at Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis cautions that while it’s too soon to reach conclusions

Former President Donald Trump’s proposed 10 percent tariff would raise taxes on American consumers by more than $300 billion a year—a tax increase rivaling the ones proposed by President Biden. If implemented, the significant trade tax hike would trigger retaliatory tax increases on U.S. exports. International trade is vital to the United States. Each year,

Key Findings New alternative nicotine products offer less harmful methods of consuming nicotine. Switching consumption from combustible cigarettes to the products saves lives. To incentivize switching, safer nicotine products should receive a preferential tax rate compared to combustible cigarettes. Despite conclusive scientific evidence, many Americans believe nicotine is a carcinogen when it is not. Tax

At least eight Republican presidential hopefuls will take the stage Wednesday night in the first presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle—and the future of the U.S. tax code should be one topic that takes center stage. The next occupant of the White House will have to address several critical tax policy issues, from

Earlier this year, House Republicans introduced the American Families and Jobs Act, a package of three new tax bills. One of these bills, the Small Business Jobs Act, would expand Section 179 expensing for small businesses—increasing the maximum eligible amount of investment and the point at which the benefit phases out. Improving the tax treatment

On 7 August, the Italian government surprisingly announced a new windfall profits tax on the banking sector, causing a loss of about €9.2 billion in market value for affected firms. For context, that is more than three times the amount of revenue expected to be collected by the tax. However, shares started to slowly recover

The college sports world is undergoing a major realignment as universities jockey to join athletic conferences with the richest TV deals. Moving from one athletic conference to another can mean millions in additional revenue sharing from lucrative broadcasting contracts and other revenue streams, all tax-free. Unlike professional sports teams that must pay income taxes on

Canada is planning to join the club of countries that, in the past 3 years, introduced a digital services tax (DST) despite U.S. opposition and concerns expressed by Canadian businesses. The country first announced plans for a digital services tax in the 2021 budget, before putting it on pause to see how the OECD global tax

It is difficult to coordinate an international agreement on tax policy. Just ask the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) how smoothly things have gone with the global tax deal. While implementation of the global minimum tax (Pillar Two) is moving forward in dozens of countries, there is much less tangible success when it

This is part of our educational blog series, “The Short Form,” to simplify tax issues and explore the world through the lens of tax policy. Learn more about taxes with TaxEDU. Economists typically frame the impact of fiscal, monetary, and tax policies by talking about three main economic indicators: GDP, jobs, and wages. It’s easy to