Taxes

A decade after Kansas’s failed tax experiment, memories linger and continue to color the debate on tax reform and tax relief across the country, no matter how dissimilar other states’ plans are from the unbalanced and imprudent plan championed by then-Gov. Sam Brownback (R). The Kansas experience is so infamous that “what about Kansas?” is

As out-of-control inflation strains families’ budgets, lawmakers across the country are casting about for ways to respond. In Oklahoma, legislators have proposed sending taxpayers $75 checks in December ($150 for married couples) to help blunt the impact of higher prices. In one respect, it’s a drop in the bucket, with inflation costing the average household

One of the hardest parts about doing your taxes? Waiting for that refund to hit your bank account. If you’re expecting a tax refund this year, here’s how you can check on the status of your refund — and when you can expect to have that cash in hand. Ways to check the status of

Updated for tax years 2021 and 2022. If you have a story, inspiration, or anything else you want to tell the world, there’s never been a better time to do it. It’s easier than ever before for authors to self-publish their work and get paid. The traditional publishing gatekeepers can’t stop you now! There are

Congress is hammering out the details of legislation designed to make the U.S. more competitive with China. Any package to incentivize further R&D should begin by ending the current tax penalty against it.   While the House and Senate-passed versions of the competitiveness legislation differ, they would support American semiconductor manufacturing, increase public funding for

Updated for tax years 2021 and 2022. Surprise — Mom and Dad gave you a nice check! Maybe it’s enough for dinner, or maybe it’s something more substantial. Either way … are there any tax implications for receiving such a gift? How much is the annual gift tax for 2021? First, let us put your

This week it was reported that during her recent trip Poland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen offered estimates from the EU Tax Observatory as evidence that the Polish government would benefit from supporting the global tax deal. Poland has been cautious to lend its support to the EU legislation to implement the minimum tax rules, and

The Tax Foundation respectfully submits comment on the state tax and revenue implications of the proposed tobacco product standard for menthol in cigarettes. Alongside the intended consequence of limiting sales of menthol cigarettes, menthol cigarette prohibition will have a significant impact on state revenue collections, in excess of the losses associated with individuals who respond

Updated for tax year 2021 The Child Tax Credit (CTC) underwent some hefty changes in 2021: Max credit amount: The credit’s maximum amount increased from the original $2,000 per child to up to $3,000 per qualifying child age 6-17 and up to $3,600 for children ages 5 and under in 2021. Child’s age: Children ages 17 and

Last month the European Union (EU) gave the final green light to update the EU Value-added Tax (VAT) Directive and broaden the list of goods and services to which two reduced VAT rates can be applied while allowing for a reduced VAT rate below 5 percent for the first time. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,

Updated for tax year 2021. You have plenty of expenses while your children are young. Fortunately, some of those expenses can directly or indirectly turn into tax credits and exemptions that may mean big savings on your tax bill. Take a look at the following tax benefits to see which ones could be beneficial for

Inheritance tax dates to the Roman Empire, which collected 5 percent of inherited property to pay soldiers’ pensions. Today, the practice of inheritance tax is widespread. The majority of European countries covered in today’s map currently levy estate, inheritance, or gift taxes. These countries are Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,

In light of high inflation and rising prices, the Biden administration announced it’s considering dropping its current tariffs on Chinese imports to ease inflationary pressures. The tariffs have indeed hurt both U.S. industry and workers. Another consequence of the U.S. imposed tariffs is that they invited retaliatory tariffs, primarily from China, on U.S. exports. Retaliatory

Today’s map shows states’ rankings on the property tax component of our 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index’s property tax component evaluates state and local taxes on real and personal property, net worth, and asset transfers. The property tax component accounts for 14.4 percent of each state’s overall Index score. Property taxes matter to businesses for several reasons. First, businesses own a

Wyoming is, without question, a low tax state, with the nation’s second-lowest overall tax burdens on residents[1] and highly competitive taxes for many businesses. Residents benefit from the high exportability of state taxes, particularly those on extractive industries. Taxes on oil, gas, coal, and other industries are borne by investors and consumers across the country

At a moment when we are seeing clear weaknesses in supply chains and needs for gearing production toward more environmentally friendly approaches, capital investment is critical. Policymakers have an opportunity to change a coming decline in investment incentives by adopting permanent policies to support growth. Expiring tax policies in major economies could create a setback

Key Findings Sales taxes account for 29.52 percent of state tax revenue, but most sales taxes are imposed on narrow—and still-narrowing—bases, with average sales tax breadth of only 29.71 percent and a median of 35.72 percent. Sales tax bases range from 19.32 percent of personal income in Massachusetts to 93.89 percent in Hawaii; the Massachusetts

Key Findings Federal policymakers are debating a legislative package focused on boosting U.S. competitiveness vis-a-vis China; however, it currently contains little to no improvements to the U.S. tax code. The existing U.S. tax code is biased against capital investment and it is scheduled to worsen over the next decade. The tax bias against domestic investment

Key Findings A capital allowance is the amount of capital investment costs a business can deduct from its revenue through the tax code via depreciation. Ideally, countries should provide higher capital allowances, as they can boost business investment which, in turn, spurs economic growth. The average of OECD countries’ capital allowances gradually decreased between 2000

Tax Day came and went on April 18th with the regular tax filing deadline, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is facing difficulties. It struggled to manage a deluge of 282 million calls made in fiscal year 2021, only answering 11 percent, and a backlog of several million returns from 2021 were left to be