Taxes

The Biden administration’s proposals to increase transfer payments and expand federal benefits in many ways resemble the social safety net policies of Scandinavian countries. To fully follow the Scandinavian model would require additional taxes that place a higher burden on middle-income earners, but instead, Biden proposes higher taxes on corporations and households making more than

Today’s map zeroes in on states that have a “marriage penalty” in their individual income tax brackets. Under a graduated-rate income tax system, a taxpayer’s marginal income is subject to progressively higher tax rates. A marriage penalty exists when a state’s income brackets for married taxpayers filing jointly are less than double the bracket widths that

With several states contemplating legalization of recreational marijuana, and federal lawmakers starting the process of federal descheduling, it is a good time to examine the tax implications of legalization. Taxes play a crucial role in the success of marijuana reform, as competitive prices in a licensed market are key to convert illicit consumption to the

Louisiana legislators passed a tax reform plan that has received overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, but voters will get the ultimate say on whether that plan succeeds. In light of this, it may be valuable to walk through what is included in these reforms and what effect the changes will have on

This is the beginning of a map series in which we’ll explore different types of excise taxes throughout Europe, starting with excise duties on beer. According to EU law, every EU country is required to levy an excise duty on beer of at least €1.87 per 100 liters (26.4 gal) and degree of alcohol content, translating

Starting next year, firms will need to amortize their research and development (R&D) expenses over five years rather than immediately deduct them from taxable income, a policy change designed to raise federal tax revenue in the short term. As policymakers decide on the future of this scheduled tax change, one option would be to delay

The Senate has begun deliberations over a bipartisan plan to provide $550 billion in new spending for a wide range of infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, public transit, broadband, and the electrical grid. The good news is that lawmakers avoided raising taxes to cover the cost of the new spending and instead used some reasonable

Policymakers broadly agree that investments by the federal government in highways, mass transit, and other modes of transportation are crucial to facilitate the nation’s economic activity, but they can’t seem to agree on how to fund such investments. The current debate is over corporate income taxes, and therein lies the problem. The standard approach long

This map shows state gas tax rates as of July 2021, using recently released data from the American Petroleum Institute. States levy gas taxes in a variety of ways, including per-gallon excise taxes collected at the pump, excise taxes imposed on wholesalers (which are passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices), and sales taxes that apply

The families of roughly 60 million children received their first installment of the enhanced Child Tax Credit payments on July 15. We’re here to bust some of the common misconceptions surrounding the payments. 1. You can keep these payments. Many families have expressed concern over keeping the money fearing they’ll have to pay it back

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a report on tax revenue statistics in selected Asian and Pacific countries. The report, covering 24 tax jurisdictions, provides tax revenue data from 1990 to 2019 and includes a section on nontax revenue data for selected Asian and Pacific economies. Additionally, a special feature co-authored by the

The District of Columbia weathered the pandemic with stable tax collections, down only less than 1 percent in FY 2020 while recovering above pre-pandemic levels in FY 2021. Yet, even as lawmakers in eleven states have cut income taxes this year, the D.C. Council has responded to surpluses and growth by voting to include substantial

Over the past few weeks the media has reported on how wealthy taxpayers who own sports teams lower their tax liability by deducting the cost of purchasing a sports team over 15 years. Contrary to claims that deducting the cost of a sports team from taxable income is a “loophole,” such deductions are a normal

Under a territorial tax system, multinational businesses primarily pay taxes to the countries in which they are physically located and earn their income. This means that territorial tax regimes do not generally tax the income companies earn in foreign countries. A worldwide tax system, on the other hand—such as the system previously employed by the

Eleven states have enacted laws this year to reduce income tax rates, in most cases paired with other structurally sound tax reforms. If North Carolina state senators get their way, their state will be the twelfth—and perhaps the most significant to date. On June 10, 2021, the North Carolina Senate passed House Bill 334 with

Job creation tax credits. Investment tax credits. Research and development tax credits. Payroll withholding tax rebates. Property tax abatements. Those are just five of the major categories of tax incentives states offer with the goal of encouraging new investment and economic development in their state. Nearly all states offer at least one of those major

In the United States, tobacco is taxed at both the federal and state and sometimes even local levels. These layers of taxes often result in very high levels of taxation—the highest of any consumer item. The retail price of cigarettes, for instance, is more than 40 percent taxes on average. In some states, like Minnesota

While sales tax holidays have been politically popular for a long time, they’ve seen a boost with lawmakers in several states this year as a way to share unanticipated surpluses with taxpayers. Although state budgets may be in unusual places this year, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.

The Biden administration has proposed several tax increases on businesses, whether structured as C corporations subject to the corporate income tax or passthrough entities such as S corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships that are subject to the individual income tax. It is important to remember that those business taxes ultimately fall on people, including business

Cutting the cord can also mean cutting your tax bill. Cable companies providing TV packages are commonly charged franchise or right-of-way taxes as a sort of payment for the easements allowing them to run cable, while streaming services operating over the internet remain untaxed in this way (except for sales taxes, which a majority of