Taxes

With the adoption of its new budget in mid-November, North Carolina has reinforced its position as a leader in pro-growth tax reform, becoming the 12th state to enact income tax rate reductions in 2021 alone. (An additional four states implemented income tax cuts in 2021 that were previously adopted or were automatically triggered upon meeting

Key Findings: Excessive tax rates on cigarettes in some states induce substantial black and gray market movement of tobacco products into high-tax states from low-tax states or foreign sources. New York has the highest inbound smuggling activity, with an estimated 52.2 percent of cigarettes consumed in the state deriving from smuggled sources in 2019. New

With the holidays just around the corner and the end of 2021 approaching fast, you might be wondering: should I sell my stocks before the end of the year? Maybe you’re looking for a little extra cash to help cover all the money you spent on holiday gifts, or perhaps you simply want to give

Today we examine how European countries rank on consumption taxes, continuing our map series on our recently published 2020 International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI). The ITCI measures and compares the competitiveness and neutrality of all 36 OECD countries’ tax systems, looking at corporate income taxes, individual taxes, consumption taxes, property taxes, and the international tax

This year, you may want to give back during the holiday season. While you can always donate money to charities year-round, this holiday season you might try donating your stocks instead. By doing your research on donating your stocks to a charity, you can potentially reduce your bill come tax time. The benefits of donating

Executive Summary Overview Tax reform has been on Kentucky lawmakers’ minds for years, and while significant progress has been made recently, substantial work remains to be done. In 2018, the General Assembly made important strides in creating a more neutral, pro-growth tax structure even while generating a net increase in revenue. With its reduction in

It’s the season of giving, and you’ve decided to put your money to good use by donating to a good cause. The best part? Your charitable donation could be tax-deductible! Thanks to the extension and expansion of 2020’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), even more taxpayers are eligible to take advantage

Thanks to increased tax revenues from higher consumer spending, sustained economic growth, and both the primary and secondary effects of federal COVID-19 relief programs, many states are flush with cash, and a significant number have used at least some of their surplus to provide tax relief. Many Mississippi lawmakers would like to join them. As

Coming out of the pandemic, the state of Ohio is estimating significant tax revenue growth, and a group of Ohio lawmakers is looking to take advantage and repeal the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT). Ohio’s CAT, implemented in 2005 as part of tax reform that lowered and consolidated business taxes, is one of only a few

One concern that some lawmakers and academics share is whether policies that incentivize investments in capital, such as full expensing or bonus depreciation, may hurt workers by encouraging firms to automate. A new paper casts doubt on that concern and finds the opposite—low-skilled workers are most helped by policies that encourage capital investments because those

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) knows how to make a splash, and his proposal to suspend the state’s gas tax—temporarily, but without a specific end date—will only burnish that reputation. Citing rising prices at the pump and the state’s substantial revenue surplus, the governor is calling upon the legislature to take the state’s gas tax

The Build Back Better Act (BBBA) would raise taxes to pay for social spending programs. But the design of some of the tax increases may end up hurting private pensions, among other problems. By relying on measures of income reported on company financial statements, i.e., book income, the proposed corporate alternative minimum tax and the

Our recently published 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index (ITCI) measures and compares how well OECD countries promote sustainable economic growth and investment through competitive and neutral tax systems. This week, we examine how European OECD countries rank on individual taxes, continuing our series on the ITCI’s component rankings. The ITCI’s individual tax component scores OECD

The current version of the reconciliation bill—the Build Back Better Act—attempts to walk a fine (politically imposed) line: raising hundreds of billions of dollars from higher corporate taxes without raising the corporate tax rate. The centerpiece of this effort is the book minimum tax, a new alternative minimum tax applied to the financial statement income

A common argument for increasing corporate taxes is that collections as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) fell after the rate was reduced to 21 percent as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017. But that argument is incomplete. We estimate that when accounting for the U.S. pass-through business sector

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that prices had risen 6.2 percent in the year up to October 2021, the fastest rate since 1990. The persistently high inflation in recent months has made some lawmakers question the need for additional deficit spending, In the short term, the Build Back Better Act (BBBA)

One unintended consequence of the tax proposals in the Build Back Better Act is a higher potential burden on wireless spectrum investments. Proposals like levying a minimum tax on book income would retroactively tax past spectrum purchases and raise the tax burden on future spectrum purchases. In turn, it could distort the prices companies are willing

Today, Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) released the States Reform Act, which would deschedule, regulate, and tax cannabis products with a novel federal excise tax design—based on quantities and predefined categories, not dissimilar from how the federal government taxes alcohol and tobacco. Rep. Mace’s bill would impose a tax of 3 percent on the removal price

After many sleepless nights, months of planning, and years of hard work, you’re finally ready … it’s time to take the leap and start your small business! Now, we know tax payments are probably the last thing you want to think about right now but trust us — filing small business taxes for the first

Indonesia, the world’s second-largest cigarette market, has a uniquely complex system when it comes to taxing its tobacco consumption, which is almost exclusively cigarettes (98 percent). The country’s cigarette taxes are divided into no less than 10 rate tiers based on product type, volume, and price. These tiers are meant to protect smaller manufacturers and