Taxes

Note: Below is an excerpt of the 2021 Spanish Regional Tax Competitiveness Index (RTCI), a recent report published in collaboration with Fundación para el Avance de la Libertad. The RTCI for Spain is designed to analyze how well regions structure their tax systems, allows policymakers, businesses, and taxpayers to evaluate and measure how their regions’ tax systems compare,

Much has been written about the House Democrats’ proposal to increase tobacco and nicotine products taxes over the last week. The proposal, which would double the tax on cigarettes while taxing every other tobacco and nicotine product at comparable rates, would have significant implications on the availability of non-cigarette tobacco products. And the potential federal

Under the House Democrats’ reconciliation plan, the top tax rate on pass-through business income would exceed 50 percent in most states. Pass-through businesses, such as sole proprietorships, S corporations, and partnerships, make up a majority of businesses and majority of private sector employment in the United States. The owners of these firms pay individual income tax on income derived from these

As Congress considers several tax proposals designed to raise taxes on high-income earners, it’s worth considering the distribution of the existing tax code. While the image that rich Americans pay little taxes is popular, it’s a misconception: high-income individuals already pay a large share of taxes, even when compared to their share of national income.

Preliminary Revenue and Economic Estimates Revenue (Trillions) Long-run GDP Wages FTE Jobs Source: Tax Foundation Taxes and Growth Model, September 2021. Democratic lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee have advanced legislation containing the tax elements of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. The draft legislation could be modified by the House Rules Committee

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!

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!

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