Taxes

“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

Was this page helpful to you? Thank You! The Tax Foundation works hard to provide insightful tax policy analysis. Our work depends on support from members of the public like you. Would you consider contributing to our work? Contribute to the Tax Foundation Share This Article! Let us know how we can better serve you!

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

This week’s map shows the five states that have an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in their individual income tax codes: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, and Minnesota. Under an individual alternative minimum tax, many taxpayers are required to calculate their income tax liability under two systems and pay the higher amount. The federal AMT was created in 1963, after Congress

Recent Biden administration proposals rely heavily on revenue from better Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax collections to fund spending initiatives. The American Families Plan uses several avenues to reduce the tax gap (or the difference between taxes paid and taxes owed), from increasing the IRS’s tax enforcement budget to improving information technology and expanding reporting

August 15th was the deadline to take advantage of the premium tax credits (PTC) originally provided in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and recently expanded in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Future extensions may provide longer-lasting benefits, although the extensions may create trade-offs for consumer choice and program costs. The ACA provided a refundable

Tackling climate change and shifting the economy towards renewable energy has been a key part of the Biden administration’s agenda.  However, this effort must first confront an overly complicated and non-neutral tax code, particularly in how it treats nuclear energy, for the White House to reach its ambitious goal of a 100 percent clean energy

Within the last year, the median sales price of houses sold in the United States rose by 16.2 percent while sales of new single-family houses dropped by 19.4 percent, an indication that demand for housing continues to outpace supply. While President Biden has many proposals aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing, including tax