Taxes

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

President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda has changed several times in the past few months. In September, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft that included $3.5 trillion in spending and tax credits, paired with roughly $2.1 trillion in tax increases (resulting in a net tax increase of about $1 trillion). On October

As Congress debates next steps on the tax provisions in the Build Back Better Act proposed in the House Ways and Means Committee, it is important to consider the economic impacts, which include reduced economic output, wages, and jobs. Due to the plan’s economically costly and inefficient tax increases, we find that long-run GDP would

Navigating the ins and outs of owning a business can be difficult, especially as a small business owner. With limited resources and funds at your disposal, determining the how to pay yourself as a small business owner is an essential step toward long-term success. But where should you start? To help you understand your options,

See 2021 Tax Brackets On a yearly basis the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) adjusts more than 60 tax provisions for inflation to prevent what is called “bracket creep.” Bracket creep occurs when people are pushed into higher income tax brackets or have reduced value from credits and deductions due to inflation, instead of any increase in

Note: The following comments were submitted to the Maryland’s Comptroller’s office on November 8th, 2021 regarding the regulation of Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax. The Maryland digital advertising tax, applied to gross revenue derived from digital advertising services, has a rate escalating from 2.5 percent to 10 percent of the advertising platform’s assessable base based on