Taxes

As lawmakers look for ways to pay for trillions in new spending, they are considering changes to prescription drug pricing under Medicare Part D. As explained here, H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, would use the leverage of steep excise tax penalties to make drug manufacturers lower their prices, generating about

All European Union (EU) countries and the United Kingdom levy excise duties on distilled alcohol; excise tax is applied to the cost of goods on purchase. The standard size of a liquor bottle in Europe is 700ml (23.7 oz). Many spirits, such as vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey, contain alcohol content in the range of

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

One of the ways lawmakers intend to pay for $3.5 trillion of new spending in the budget reconciliation package is by creating “health care savings.” The leading proposal to achieve this is H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would change the way that prescription drug prices are negotiated under Medicare

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

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

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.

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

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently introduced the Small Business Tax Fairness Act—the impact of which we modeled—to reform the Section 199A pass-through business deduction created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. The provision currently allows taxpayers to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income from their taxable income,

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

This week’s map showcases states which levy alternative minimum taxes (AMTs) to prevent corporations from reducing their corporate income tax liability beyond a certain level. Under an AMT, corporations are required to calculate their income tax liability under two systems and pay the higher amount. This requirement under the federal AMT imposed steep compliance costs

Now that Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has kicked off the budget reconciliation process to advance President Biden’s agenda, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Angus King (I-ME) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) are pushing to create a new surtax on corporate book income. However, their arguments for the policy misconstrue why there are differences

Binyamin Applebaum of The New York Times recently authored an op-ed calling for the adoption of return-free filing. Under return-free filing, many taxpayers would receive an already-completed return that they could amend. It’s an appealing idea, but for it to deliver its promised benefits, the U.S. tax code would have to be much simpler. The

Critics of depreciation deductions for business expenses in the tax code occasionally argue that assets that can go up in value, like structures or sports teams, should not receive the same depreciation deductions as assets that decline in value. That criticism is driven by a deeper dispute over whether businesses should be taxed on the

One of the proposals in Congress’ eclectic grab-bag of payfors in the bipartisan infrastructure package is an effort to curb tax evasion in cryptocurrency by imposing a series of reporting requirements on the industry. While it makes sense to ensure cryptocurrency transactions are treated similarly to other financial assets, the nature of these requirements as

Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published its annual analysis of the distribution of American household incomes and tax burdens, this time for 2018, the year after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted. CBO data shows that the TCJA reduced federal tax rates for households across every income level while increasing the

A vehicle miles traveled (VMT) proposal gaining steam in Pennsylvania would be the equivalent of a state gas tax of more than $2 per gallon, and that’s not all the Commonwealth is considering. With infrastructure spending and taxation—both state and federal—the topics of the day, Pennsylvania’s recently appointed Transportation Revenue Options Commis­sion (TROC) has published