Taxes

The European Parliamentary Research Service recently released a report evaluating the compliance costs for businesses and consumers of the current value-added tax (VAT) system and analyzing the environmental and social effects of reduced VAT rates. The report concludes that reducing the VAT gap—the difference between the tax collected and the tax that should be collected

U.S. companies succeed and maintain their success by engaging in research & development (R&D) that results in innovative products and services reaching customers around the world. But U.S. policies that create tax or regulatory penalties, such as the drug pricing and excise tax proposal lawmakers are considering in the reconciliation package, can curtail R&D spending

Stock buybacks have gained a bad rap in recent years as policymakers have blamed them for a range of economic ills, from encouraging a focus on short-term profits to reduced investment. Now, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have targeted buybacks for a 2 percent excise tax in the reconciliation package. But research

Earlier this year, Maryland legislators overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of HB732, approving a digital advertising tax, the first of its kind in the country. But legislators punted several crucial questions to the state comptroller, who last week submitted proposed regulations for the digital advertising tax to the state Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive,

On August 23rd, Jared Bernstein and Ernie Tedeschi, two members of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, released a blog post arguing that the Biden administration’s spending agenda would help keep long-term inflation in check. Their theoretical argument is sound: in the long run, productivity enhancements should put downward pressure on prices. However, the major

“If churches paid taxes,” runs a popular claim on social media (hashtag #taxthechurches), “everyone would only have to pay 3 percent taxes.” Other claims put the forgone tax revenue haul at $76 billion or $85 billion, oddly specific figures conspicuously lacking a meaningful citation. Whether spurred by a belief that government is improperly favoring religious

Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department released a blog authored by Treasury officials Itai Grinberg and Rebecca Kysar. Though the blog purports to make a case for President Biden’s proposal to increase the current minimum tax on foreign profits of U.S. companies, its arguments rely on a very narrow interpretation of current law and the president’s

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has introduced a series of proposals that may be considered in the budget reconciliation process, including two bills that would change the tax treatment of financial services: derivatives and carried interest. Notably, both proposals would enact “mark-to-market” taxation for derivatives and carried interest, which could be a precursor to broader taxation

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Key Findings The Biden administration’s budget proposals have several provisions focused on raising taxes on the U.S. fossil fuel industry. These proposals largely depart from neutral tax policy and intentionally target the industry. Internal Revenue Service data does not indicate any substantial tax preference for the fossil fuel industry, rather indicating the industry pays relatively

Over the next ten years, the structure of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is scheduled to change, complicating efforts to extend enhanced Child Tax Credit benefits or reform the Child Tax Credit for the long-term. Rather than take an all-or-nothing approach or kick the can down the road by relying on temporary expansions, lawmakers could consider

Sometimes the more you learn about a tax policy, the more it confuses you. Many times, the confusion lies between the intent of the policymakers and what really happens. Often, it’s when important issues were overlooked when the policy was being designed. Such is the case for U.S. companies that run losses on their domestic

Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local government and generate state-level revenue in some states as well. In fiscal year 2019, property taxes comprised 31 percent of total state and local tax collections in the United States, more than any other source of tax revenue. In that same year, property taxes accounted for 72 percent of local

Increasing tax compliance is a major part of the Biden administration proposal to raise revenue for physical and social infrastructure. Reducing the tax gap—the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid—is a good way to raise revenue, but it doesn’t come without trade-offs, and it’s important to go about it in the right way. Point

As Congress considers repealing or making more generous the $10,000 state and local tax deduction cap in the budget reconciliation process, it is helpful to review how the state and local tax (SALT) deduction is taken by taxpayers across U.S. counties. Using 2018 data from the Internal Revenue Service, we can examine how much SALT

If you have ever wondered about the tax consequences of opening a bottle of wine in Europe, today’s map will provide you with some insights. As one might expect, southern European countries that are well-known for their wines—such as France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain—either don’t tax it or do so at a very low rate.

On Wednesday, the Tax Policy Center (TPC) released estimates on the portion of households with no federal income tax liability, finding that in 2020, about 60.6 percent of households did not pay income tax, up from 43.6 percent of households in 2019. Much of the 2020 increase was due to pandemic-related factors, but the growing

The Biden administration recently cited an analysis from Treasury claiming that “the President’s agenda will protect 97 percent of small business owners from income tax rate increases.” However, the figure is misleading. To assess the economic effect of higher marginal tax rates, it matters how much income or investment will be affected—not how many taxpayers.

Table of Contents Key Findings There are over 11,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the United States, with widely varying rates. Among major cities, Tacoma, Washington imposes the highest combined state and local sales tax rate, at 10.30 percent. Five other cities—Fremont, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Seattle, Washington—are tied for the second

Key Findings Taxpayers reported nearly $11.8 trillion of total income on their 2018 tax returns. About 67 percent ($7.9 trillion) of the total income reported on Form 1040 consisted of wages and salaries, and 82 percent of all tax filers reported earning wage income. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and pensions are important sources of